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BY  HORACE  KEPHARJ 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 


SPORTING 
FIREARMS 


BY 

HORACE   KEPHART 

if 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  BOOK  OF  CAMPING  AND 
WOODCRAFT,"  "CAMP  COOKERY,"  ETC. 


Illustrated  with  Diagrams 


NEW  YORK 

OUTING   PUBLISHING   COMPANY 
MCMXII 


&//I77 


COPYRIGHT,  1912,  BY 
OUTING  PUBLISHING  COMPANY. 


Entered  at  Stationer's  Hall,  London,  England. 
All  rights  reserved 


FOREWORD 

It  is  assumed  that  the  reader  of  this  booklet 
is  familiar  with  gun  catalogues — hence  space  is 
saved  by  omitting  nearly  everything  that  cata- 
logues have  to  say. 

Let  us  consider  rifles  and  shotguns  from  the 
user's  standpoint,  simply  as  tools  of  sport,  to 
be  judged  strictly  on  their  merits.  The 
"  make  "  of  a  gun,  like  a  horse's  pedigree,  may  be 
of  good  or  ill  Depute;  but  it  is  not  a  final  guar- 
antee of  merit. 

To  prove  a  gun  thoroughly,  it  must  be  tested 
both  on  the  range  and  in  the  field.  Nobody  can 
tell  from  field  shooting  alone  just  what  a  gun's 
shooting  qualities  are;  nor  can  anybody  tell 
much  about  its  killing  power  and  serviceability 
until  he  has  used  it  a  good  deal  on  game. 

HORACE  KEPHART. 
Bryson,  N.  C.  January,  1912. 


253387 


TABLE  OF   CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  RIFLES  AND  AMMUNITION      ...  11 

II.  THE  FLIGHT  OF  BULLETS     ...  26 

III.  KILLING  POWER 40 

IV.  RIFLE  MECHANISM  AND  MATERIALS  .  59 
V.  RIFLE  SIGHTS 76 

VI.  TRIGGERS    AND    STOCKS  —  CARE    OF 

RIFLE 91 

PART  II.     THE  SHOTGUN 

VII.  SHOT  PATTERNS  AND  PENETRATION  .  109 

VIII.  GAUGES  AND  WEIGHTS      ....  124 

IX.  MECHANISM  AND  BUILD  OF  SHOTGUNS  140 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 


CHAPTER   I 

EIFLES  AND   AMMUNITION 

THE  shooting  merits  of  a  rifle  are  rated 
by  the  accuracy,  velocity,  and  force  with 
which  it  delivers  bullets.  I  use  the  word 
force,  for  brevity's  sake,  in  an  arbitrary  sense,  to 
include  energy  of  impact,  penetration,  and  shock. 
Some  rifles  are  accurate,  but  drive  the  bullets 
so  slowly  that  they  describe  a  high  curve,  so  that 
they  will  over-shoot  or  under-shoot  beyond,  say, 
fifty  yards,  unless  the  distance  is  closely  esti- 
mated and  proper  allowance  is  made  in  aiming. 
Some,  shoot  swift  and  hard,  but  drive  their  bullets 
now  high,  now  low,  now  right,  now  left,  and  no 
man  can  tell  just  where  they  will  hit.  Others 
shoot  swift,  and  hard,  and  true:  they  can  be 
relied  upon  to  hit  "  where  they  are  held,"  without 
allowing  for  distance,  up  to,  say,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  yards.  When  all  three  merits  are  combined 
in  the  same  gun  we  have  a  weapon  of  high  ballistic 

11 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

efficiency — an  "  old  reliable  "  that  a  man  may  well 
be  proud  of. 

I  have  spoken  in  hunters'  terms  and  as  though 
it  were  the  gun  alone  that  did  the  work.  But 
the  degree  of  accuracy,  velocity,  and  force  with 
which  a  rifle  shoots  is  really  determined  not  so 
much  by  the  weapon  itself  as  by  the  charge  with 
which  it  is  loaded.  If  a  novice  should  ask  "  How 
straight  and  how  hard  does  a  Winchester  rifle 
shoot?  "  (or  a  Remington,  or  any  other)  nobody 
could  give  a  direct  answer;  for  it  depends  on 
what  cartridge  is  used.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  he 
should  ask  "  How  straight  and  how  hard  does  a 
.25-35  Winchester  cartridge  shoot?"  (or  any 
other)  we  could  answer  definitely;  for  it  will  give 
about  the  same  results  in  any  standard  arm  that 
is  made  to  use  it. 

Of  course,  the  precision  with  which  a  bullet 
starts  on  its  errand  is  governed  largely  by  the 
design,  material,  and  mechanical  perfection  of  the 
gun  barrel.  So,  too,  velocity  of  bullet  depends 
somewhat  upon  length  of  barrel.  But  the  com- 
mon experience  of  gunmakers  has  so  nearly 
standardized  these  matters  that  we  need  not  con- 
sider them  for  the  present. 

The  cartridge  determines  the  kind  of  work  that 
a  rifle  can  do.  It  is  -a  law  of  scientific  gunnery 

12 


RIFLES  AND  AMMUNITION 

to  design  first  a  cartridge,  then  a  gun  to  handle  it. 
And  this  is  done  in  practical  gunmaking  whenever 
an  arm  of  superior  ballistics  is  produced.  On 
the  contrary,  whenever  a  charge  is  ill-balanced 
or  a  bullet  malformed,  for  the  sake  of  fitting  the 
cartridge  to  a  particular  breech  mechanism,  bad 
shooting  is  bound  to  result. 

This  matter  is  so  important,  yet  so  commonly 
overlooked,  that  I  may  be  allowed  a  little  space 
to  illustrate  and  emphasize  it : 

In  the  half-century  preceding  our  Civil  War 
the  muzzle-loader  reached  its  highest  develop- 
ment. After  infinitely  varied  experiments,  Amer- 
ican riflemen  discovered  a  peculiar  bullet  called 
the  "sugar  loaf"  (fig.  1)  that  outclassed  all 


FIGURE  1. 

others  in  ballistic  merit.  Its  length  was  a  little 
less  than  twice  its  own  caliber.  Its  distinguish- 
ing feature  was  an  extremely  slow  taper  from 
point  to  base,  the  bearing  or  cylindrical  part  be- 
ing so  short  that  this  bullet  could  only  be  loaded 
by  using  a  false  muzzle  to  start  it.  Except  for 
a  slightly  blunted  tip,  it  had  fine  lines,  like  a  boat 

13 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

built  for  high  speed.  It  flew  with  extreme  ac- 
curacy up  to  five  hundred  yards,  and  with  a  lower 
curve  or  trajectory  than  any  other  form  of  coni- 
cal ball. 

With  such  bullets  a  rifle  by  Morgan  James 
made  a  score  of  twenty-five  consecutive  shots,  at 
two  hundred  and  twenty  yards,  with  average 
deviation  of  1.4  inch;  also  ten  shots,  same  dis- 
tance, average  deviation  .8  inch,  measuring  from 
center  of  bullet  hole  to  center  of  group  (targets 
published  in  Atlantic  Monthly,  October,  1859). 
The  bullet  here  illustrated  was  used,  in  a  .42-130- 
270  muzzle-loader,  in  the  Forest  and  Stream  tra- 
jectory test  at  Creedmoor  in  1885,  and  made  a 
lower  curve  than  any  American  or  foreign  breech- 
loader of  its  day  (height  of  trajectory  6.4  inches 
midway  over  the  two  hundred  yard  range).  We 
may  say  that  this  or  a  similar  charge  gave  the 
highest  ballistic  efficiency — the  best  combination 
of  accuracy,  velocity,  and  force — that  ever  was 
attained  with  black  gunpowder  within  sporting 
ranges. 

When  breech-loader^  were  introduced  the 
sugar-loaf  bullet  could  not  be  used  in  them,  owing 
to  its  short  bearing.  Their  mechanism  was  so 
weak,  and  the  shells  were  so  weak,  that  breech 
pressure  had  to  be  kept  down  to  a  low  figure. 

14 


RIFLES  AND  AMMUNITION 

This  could  only  be  done  by  using  a  small  charge 
of  powder  and  a  light,  short  bullet.  Still,  the 
bullet  had  to  have  considerable  bearing,  in  order 
to  start  straight. 

This  meant  a  bluff  shoulder,  like  the  bow  of  a 
canal  boat,  and  consequent  low  speed.  Such  a 
bullet  is  illustrated  in  fig.  29  the  well  known  .44- 


FIGUBE  2. 

40-200.  The  accuracy  of  such  a  charge  is  far 
inferior  to  the  one  previously  mentioned.  Its 
trajectory  is  so  high  (sixteen  inches  midway  over 
the  two  hundred  yard  range)  that  shooting  it  be- 
yond one  hundred  yards  is  mostly  guesswork,  and 
seldom  effective.  And  yet  more  of  this  ammuni- 
tion, probably,  was  sold  in  America  than  any 
other  that  has  been  used  on  big  game,  and  more 
game  has  been  killed  with  it  than  with  any  other. 
It  came  into  use  at  the  right  time,  when  an  army 
of  hunters,  many  of  them  ex-soldiers,  advanced 
into  the  West,  where  game  was  wonderfully  plenti- 
ful. These  cartridges  were  cheap,  and  they  could 
be  bought  at  any  frontier  post.  Game  was  easily 
approached,  in  those  days,  and  sportsmanship 

15 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

had  no  more  ethics  than  timber  cutting — nobody 
cared  how  many  broken-legged  or  gut-shot  ani- 
mals crawled  off  to  fester  miserably;  in  a  thicket 
and  die  by  slow  torture. 

So  it  came  to  pass  that  the  record  for  Amer- 
ican game  shooting  was  won  by  as  poor  a  cart- 
ridge as  ever  was  forced  into  an  arbitrary  shape. 
"  It  should  be  noted,  in  this  case,  that  the  bullet 
is  of  only  \y2  calibers  length,  cylindrical  through- 
out half  its  length,  and  very  blunt.  Such  a  missile 
will  fly  straight  enough  to  satisfy  average  men, 
up  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards,  if  started  at 
very  slow  speed  (standard  muzzle  velocity  1,300 
feet  a  second).  If  driven  by  a  strong  charge  of 
powder  it  would  meet  excessive  air  resistance, 
would  waste  energy  like  a  bluff-bowed  boat  driven 
by  powerful  engines,  would  "  corkscrew  "  in  its 
flight,  and  soon  would  go  staggering  like  a  ship 
without  a  rudder. 

Good  marksmen  never  were  satisfied  with  such 
ammunition  as  the  .44-40,  .38-40,  .32-20,  and 
others  similarly  proportioned.  The  demand  for 
something  more  accurate  and  of  surer  killing 
power  became  insistent.  It  was  met  by  a  series 
of  cartridges  of  radically  different  type,  in  which 
the  bullet  was  of  from  2J^  to  3  calibers  length, 
such  as  the  .45-110-550,  .45-70-405,  .40-90-370, 

16 


RIFLES  AND  AMMUNITION 

.40-70-330,   .38-55-255,   and   .32-40-165.     (The 

first  figure,  in  each  case,  is  the  caliber  in  him- 
dredths  of  an  inch;  the  second  is  the  weight  of 
powder,  in  grains;  the  third  is  the  weight  of 
bullet,  in  grains.)  The  .45-70-405  bullet  is 
shown,  as  an  example  in  fig.  3. 


FIGURE  3. 

These  were  the  most  accurate  sporting  cart- 
ridges produced  in  black  powder  days.  Their 
bullets,  being  long  and  heavy,  could  only  be 
driven  at  low  speed  (1,300  to  1,400  feet  a  second) 
and  had  high  trajectories  (10  to  13^/2  inches 
midway  for  two  hundred  yards),  but  they  were 
reliable,  if  proper  elevation  was  given,  up  to 
three  hundred  to  one  thousand  yards.  Discrim- 
inating marksmen  refused  to  use  repeating  rifles 
until  they  were  made  strong  enough  to  handle 
ammunition  of  this  or  similar  type. 

The  one  fault  of  the  long,  heavy  bullet  was  its 
high  trajectory.  It  is  hard  to  estimate  distance 
correctly  over  uneven  ground,  across  ravines,  and 
over  the  water.  It  is  harder  still  to  make  just 
the  right  allowance  for  it  when  aiming  over  open 

17 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

sights.  Moreover,  game  is  hunted  where  there  is 
cover.  A  man  may  not  be  expecting  a  shot  at 
less  than  one  hundred  yards,  but  there  is  no  tell- 
ing when  game  may  be  jumped  unexpectedly  at 
some  intermediate  distance.  Suppose  he  carries 
a  .45-70,  or  a  .38-55,  sighted  to  strike  center  at 
one  hundred  yards.  He  jumps  a  deer  at  fifty 
yards,  and  fires  quickly — no  time  to  think  about 
sight  allowance.  His  rifle  will  shoot  nearly  three 
inches  higher  than  he  aims.  This  may  mean  all 
the  difference  between  a  clean  kill  and  a  cripple. 

Had  he  been  armed  with  a  weapon  taking  such  a 
cartridge  as  the  1906  model  .30  U.  S.  A.,  the  bul- 
let would  have  risen  no  more  than  a  negligible 
fraction  of  an  inch  above  line  of  aim,  at  any  point 
from  muzzle  to  mark.  At  longer  ranges  than  one 
hundred  yards  the  advantage  of  a  low  trajectory 
rapidly  mounts  in  value. 

To  meet  the  demand  for  a  flatter  line  of  fire 
in  repeating  rifles  a  new  series  of  cartridges  was 
devised,  of  which  the  .45-90-300  and  .50-110-300 
are  typical.  The  total  length  of  cartridge  being 
limited  by  the  form  of  breech  mechanism,  increased 
velocity  could  only  be  gained  by  enlarging  the 
shell  capacity  and  shortening  the  bullet. 

Here,  again,  accuracy  was  sacrificed  with  no 
offsetting  gain.  The  difference  in  trajectory  be- 

18 


RIFLES  AND  AMMUNITION 

tween  the  .45-90-300  and  the  .45-70-405  was  so 
slight  as  to  be  of  no  practical  value,  considering 
that  the  latter  bullet  is  the  steadier  of  the  two. 
Muzzle  energies  are  the  same,  and  the  remaining 
energy  of  the  405  grain  bullet  is  greater  at  all 
ranges  than  that  of  the  300.  The  .50-110-300, 
with  a  bullet  of  only  one  and  one-third  calibers 
length,  and  very  blunt,  is  notoriously  inaccurate, 
so  that  its  trajectory  figures  are  quite  misleading. 
The  .50-100-450,  with  longer  bullet  in  the  same 
shell  is  far  superior  to  it  in  every  respect. 

Then  came  smokeless  powder  and  steel- jacketed 
bullets,  changing  everything.  We  awoke  to  the 
fact  that  killing  power  or  shock  does  not  depend 
upon  caliber  alone.  We  also  learned  that  a  bullet 


FIGURE  4. 
of  four  or  five  calibers  length  could  be  given  an 

initial  speed  of  two  thousand  feet  a  second,  or 

.  ^ 

more,  and  yet  shoot  with  precision  at.  all  ranges, 

with  a  trajectory  lower  even  than  that  of  the 
"  sugar  loaf "  bullet  from  our  grandfathers' 
muzzle-loader.  The  most  effective  sporting  cart- 
ridges of  this  class  are  those  using  bullets  of  the 
length  here  mentioned,  (fig  4),  with  lead  exposed 

19 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

at  the  tip  so  as  to  mushroom  on  impact.  Weaker 
ammunition  for  medium  game  was  provided  in 
the  .303  Savage,  .30-30,  .25-35,  etc.,  with  bullets 
of  three  to  three  and  three-fourths  calibers  length, 
which  were  of  fair  accuracy  and  stopping  power. 

Some  dissatisfaction  has  been  found  with  am- 
munition for  these  small-bores,  owing  to  defective 
bullets  of  the  soft-point  kind,  which  were  not  ac- 
curate and  did  not  penetrate  as  they  should. 
Consequently  many  hunters  have  insisted  on  larger 
calibers.  An  attempt  to  make  high-velocity  am- 
munition out  of  the  old  .45s  and  ,50s  was  tried  by 
returning  again  to  the  futile  expedient  of  using 
bullets  that  were  very  short  and  stubby.  It  failed, 
as  all  such  efforts  are  bound  to  fail,  since  a  bullet 
that  is  inaccurate  at  moderate  speed  is  sure  to  fly 
wilder  and  wilder  as  the  velocity  is  increased. 
Other  large  caliber  ammunition  using  longer  bul- 
lets, such  as  the  .35  Winchester,  .405  Winchester, 
.9  mm.  Mauser  and  Mannlicher,  has  given  much 
better  results. 

Up  to  this  point  in  the  development  of  firearms, 
it  seemed  to  have  been  proven  that  accuracy  and 
sustained  velocity  could  only  be  attained,  in 
breech-loaders,  by  using  long  and  heavy  bullets. 
The  lesson  learned  in  muzzle-loading  days  that  a 
great  deal  depends  upon  the  shape  of  a  projectile's 

20 


RIFLES  AND  AMMUNITION 

head — upon  its  lines,  as  one  would  say  of  a  boat — 
had  been  forgotten.  Our  riflemen  and  our  gun- 
makers,  as  a  class,  seemed  possessed  of  the  notion 
that  they  had  nothing  to  learn  of  their  forefathers 
and  nothing  to  learn  abroad. 

Meantime  the  U.  S.  A.  ordnance  board  was  get- 
ting interesting  news  from  beyond  the  horizon. 
Smokeless  powder  and  jacketed  bullets  were  intro- 
duced from  Europe;  then  came,  from  the  same 
source,  bolt  action  repeaters,  clip-loading  maga- 
zines, rimless  shells,  machines  for  charging  cart- 
ridges by  weight  instead  of  by  bulk,  and,  finally, 
an  odd  form  of  projectile,  the  sharp-pointed 
Spitzer  bullet,  which  upset  our  so-called  science 
of  ballistics  and  taught  us  anew  the  lesson  of  the 
"  sugar  loaf." 

The  shape  of  the  Spitzer  bullet  is  shown  in  fig. 
5,  which  is  a  view,  partly  in  cross-section,  of  the 


FIGURE  5. 


.30  U.  S.  A.  cartridge,  model  of  1906.  The  pro- 
jectile is  shorter  than  the  former  service  bullet  by 
about  one-half  caliber.  Considerably  more  than 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

half  its  length  forward  is  finely  tapered  from 
point  to  shoulder.  In  fact,  only  so  much  of  the 
bullet  is  cylindrical  as  is  necessary  to  give  it 
secure  bearing  in  the  shell  and  a  straight  start 
in  the  bore  of  the  gun. 

Although  the  Spitzer  weighs  only  one  hundred 
and  fifty  grains,  as  against  the  two  hundred  and 
twenty  of  the  old  service  bullet,  its  fine  lines  enable 
it  to  pierce  the  air  much  more  easily  than  the  old 
model  with  round  head.  When  a  bullet  of  the  old 
form  is  made  short  enough  to  weigh  only  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  grains,  and  is  fired  with  the  same 
muzzle  velocity  as  the  sharp  bullet,  its  speed  falls 
off  much  more  rapidly,  and  its  trajectory  is 
higher  and  higher  as  the  range  increases,  until,  at 
seven  hundred  yards,  it  even  rises  above  that  of 
the  two  hundred  and  twenty  grain  rounded-head 
bullet. 

Form  of  bullet  head  becomes  of  greater  and 
greater  consequence  as  muzzle  velocity  is  in- 
creased. It  is  much  the  same  with  projectiles  in 
air  as  it  is  with  boats  in  water — the  higher  the 
speed,  the  finer  should  be  the  lines.  An  ideal 
shape  for  a  projectile  would  be  somewhat  like  that 
of  a  submarine  torpedo,  sharp  at  both  ends,  and 
I  doubt  not  that  some  day  we  shall  come  to  it.  In 
fact,  I  experimented  with  such  missiles  about 


RIFLES  AND  AMMUNITION 

twenty  years  ago  and  found  that  no  sabot  was 
needed  to  start  them  straight  and  that  they  re- 
quired a  much  slower  twist  than  bullets  with 
square  bases,  which  have  to  be  shot  light  end  fore- 
most, in  defiance  of  nature. 

The  change  wrought  by  the  Spitzer  bullet  has 
been  as  revolutionary,  in  its  way,  as  that  effected 
by  smokeless  powder.  The  maximum  ordinate 
(highest  rise)  of  the  two  hundred  and  twenty  grain 
Springfield  bullet,  for  one  thousand  yards  range, 
is  twenty-two  feet;  that  for  the  sharp-point  bul- 
let is  only  fourteen  and  one-half  feet.  At  all 
ranges  up  to  two  thousand  yards  the  velocity  of 
the  sharp-point  is  greater  and  the  trajectory 
flatter.  Up  to  one  thousand  yards  the  energy  is 
greater  and  the  accuracy  is  better.  In  fact,  the 
.30  U.  S.  A.  cartridges  turned  out  by  the  Frank- 
ford  Arsenal  since  1909  are  probably  the  most 
accurate  ammunition  ever  produced  for  a  hand 
firearm,  the  mean  radius  at  five  hundred  yards 
being  4.87  inches,  and  the  mean  vertical  deviation 
2.34  inches.  When  the  rifle  is  sighted  to  strike 
center  at  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards,  its  bullet 
rises  only  0.61  inch  above  actual  line  of  sight  at 
fifty  yards,  1.05  inch  at  seventy-five  yards,  1.07 
inch  at  one  hundred  yards,  0.71  inch  at  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  yards,  and  falls  only  1.19 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

inches  below  it  at  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
yards  (my  own  figures). 

Most  surprising  of  all  properties  of  this  re- 
markable projectile  is  the  fact,  now  well  estab- 
lished, that  the  full-mantled  bullet  (not  soft-nose) 
has  tremendous  smashing  effect  on  living  tissue 
and  bones  up  to  three  hundred  yards — quite 
enough  for  any  American  game. 

I  have  written  this  sketch  for  a  practical  pur- 
pose. Since  it  is  the  cartridge  that  determines 
the  kind  of  work  that  a  rifle  can  do,  it  follows 
that  when  one  is  buying  a  rifle  he  first  should  con- 
sider the  kind  of  work  that  he  wants  to  do  with 
it,  then  choose  a  cartridge  adapted  to  such  work. 
When  this  is  settled,  but  not  until  then,  it  is  time 
to  consider  what  functioning  mechanism  is  best 
for  the  purpose,  what  weight  and  proportions  of 
arm,  what  materials  and  finish;  then,  finally,  who 
makes  the  best  gun  of  that  kind.  The  trouble  is 
that  there  are  so  many  varieties  of  ammunition  on 
our  market  that  anyone  studying  catalogues  and 
ballistic  tables  is  likely  to  get  "  bumfuzzled,"  as 
my  backwoods  partner  puts  it.  In  the  catalogue 
of  one  maker  alone  you  can  count  more  than  four 
hundred  different  rifle  cartridges,  all  of  them  on 
sale  to-day.  Nine  out  of  ten  of  them  are  out-of-* 
date,  or  of  bad  design.  To  criticize  all  of  them 

24 


RIFLES  AND  AMMUNITION 

would  take  a  book.     I  have  tried  to  show  how  one 

can  discriminate  by  following  a  few  safe  rules : — 

1.  No  cartridge  is  worthy  of  consideration  by 

up-to-date  sportsmen  unless  the  bullet  is  at  least — 


3       calibers  long  for  .25  caliber  bullets 

2%         "  "       "     .30  to  .35      " 

2  "  "       "     .40  to  .45      " 

1%         "  "       "     .50 


2.  No  bullet  is  accurate  at  high  speed  unless  it 
either  is  long  and  heavy  or  has  fine  lines  forward. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE   FLIGHT   OF   BULLETS 

THE  trajectory  of 'a  bullet  is  the  curved  path 
of  its  flight.  Every  missile  travels  in  a 
constantly  increasing  curve.  The  height 
of  that  curve,  for  a  given  range,  depends  upon  the 
speed  a«t  which  the  projectile  flies.  No  trajec- 
tory can  be  flat,  because  no  curve  is  flat;  it  will 
be  low  with  a  swift  bullet  and  high  with  a  slow 
one.  The  advantage  of  a  low  trajectory  is  that 
it  extends  the  range  throughout  which  one  can 
hit  game  without  making  a  close  guess  at  the  dis- 
tance and  precise  allowance  for  the  drop  of  bul- 
let. 

Imagine  yourself  hunting  with  an  accurate  but 
low-speed  rifle — say  a  .38-55  or  a  .45-70  of  the 
type  favored  a  few  years  ago.  In  your  hunting 
ground  the  cover  is  so  thick  that  the  guides  say: 
66  Don't  bother  about  trajectory;  nine-tenths  of 
big  game  is  shot  within  a  hundred  yards,  and  any 
rifle  will  carry  '  level '  enough  to  do  the  trick  at 
that  distance.55 

26 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  BULLETS 

But  the  days  slip  by,  your  vacation  is  near 
spent,  and  you  have  no  trophy.  Then  the  ex- 
traordinary happens.  A  fine  bull  moose  steps 
out  to  the  lake's  margin.  There  he  stands,  clearly 
outlined  against  sky  and  water,  as  fair  a  mark 
as  any  bull'seye  on  your  target  range  at  home. 
It  is  your  last  chance  to  retrieve  from  failure  a 
trip  you  have  planned  these  three  years  past,  and 
one  that  has  cost  you  a  pretty  penny,  withal. 

The  beast  is  a  good  way  off;  just  how  far  is  not 
easy  for  city-trained  eyes  to  gauge.  You  say  to 
yourself  "  three  hundred  yards,"  and  raise  the  rear 
sight  accordingly.  Beside  you  is  a  big,  old  mossy 
log — as  good  a  muzzle  rest  as  man  could  wish.  It 
is  a  fair  advantage  to  take  for  so  long  a  shot. 
The  moose  does  not  wind  you.  There  is  no  hurry. 
You  aim  as  you  never  aimed  before,  draw  trigger 
with  never  a  blink  or  shrink,  and — miss! 

"  Chr-r-ristopher  Columbus !  "  or  words  to  that 
effect. 

The  moose  has  vanished  forever.  And  what's 
to  blame?  Trajectory  is  to  blame.  Your  guide 
was  right  about  the  nine  times  in  ten;  but  about 
this  supreme  and  never-to-be-forgotten  one  chance 
in  ten  he  was  dead,  dead  wrong. 

You  overestimated  the  distance  by  fifty  yards — 
not  a  very  bad  guess,  under  the  circumstances.  At 

27 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  where  the  moose  really 
stood,  your  slow-moving  bullet,  aimed  for  three 
hundred,  flew  nearly  or  quite  two  feet  too  high. 
Had  you  been  armed  with  an  accurate  high-speed 
rifle,  say  a  .30  U.  S.,  '  06,  the  bullet  would  have 
landed  on  the  moose,  from  two  to  seven  inches 
above  the  point  you  aimed  at,  with  strong  prob- 
ability of  bringing  meat  to  camp  and  a  fine  head 
for  the  wall  of  your  den  at  home. 

These  figures  are  not  the  kind  reprinted  by 
catalogue  experts  in  the  gun-talk  pages  of  maga- 
zines. They  are  the  kind  that  bring  results.  No 
gun  ever  shoots  swift  for  one  man  and  slow  for 
another.  Its  trajectory  is  pre-determined  when 
the  cartridge  is  loaded,  and  one  can  no  more  alter 
it  by  anecdotes  of  fluke  shots  than  he  can  by  pull- 
ing harder  on  the  trigger. 

Trajectory,  then,  is  something  that  every  up- 
to-date  sportsman  should  understand.     To  do  so, 
one  must  give  attention  to  a  few  figures.     Those 
commonly  printed  in  catalogue  tables  do  not  tell  • 
the  facts  that  a  hunter  most  needs  to  know.     The 
midway  rise  of  a  bullet  over  certain  ranges  may  ] 
have  some  value  in  comparing  weapons,  but  little  ~ 
in  hunting ;  for  nobody  will  make  a  mistake  of  t 
fifty  per  cent  in  judging  distance.     The  zone  of  • 
probable  error  is  the  twenty-five  to  seventy-five 

28 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  BULLETS 

yards  nearest  the  mark  shot  at,  both  on  the  hither 
side  and  beyond  the  object. 

Trajectory  tables,  to  be  of  practical  use  to 
sportsmen,  should  show  the  height  of  bullet  curve 
every  twenty-five  or  fifty  yards  from  muzzle  to 
range  sighted  for;  also  the  drop  below  line  of 
aim,  at  similar  intervals,  for  some  distance  beyond 
that  range.  It  is  not  expedient  to  publish  many 
such  tables  in  this  place,  nor  is  it  needful  to  do  so. 
Rifle  ammunition  may  be  classified  in  a  few  well- 
defined  groups,  and  a  typical  cartridge  of  each 
group  will  serve  for  comparison.  The  meaning 
of  the  tables  published  herewith  can  be  taken  in 
at  a  glance. 

I  have  selected  four  typical  cartridges,  and  give 
their  trajectories,  at  sporting  ranges,  in  detail. 
They  may  be  compared  with  others  by  noting,  first, 
the  relative  length  of  bullet  in  calibers,  and,  second, 
the  midway  height  of  curve  over  a  given  range,  as 
shown  in  catalogues.  The  cartridges  chosen  for 
illustration  are  as  follows — 

(A).  The  .22  long  rifle.  Typical  of  miniature 
rim-fires  used  on  very  small  game  and  vermin; 
also  by  beginners,  as  primers  of  marksmanship, 
and  by  older  sportsmen  to  "  keep  their  hands  in." 

(B).  The  .32  Winchester  auto-loading  cart- 
ridge. Type  of  cheap,  short-range  ammunition 

29 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

suitable  for  shooting  in  settled  regions  at  small 
game  generally  and  at  predatory  creatures,  yet 
powerful  enough  for  an  occasional  deer  or  black 
bear. 

(C).  The  well  known  .30-30.  Differing  but 
little  from  others  in  a  series  of  cartridges  of  about 
two  thousand  feet  a  second  muzzle  velocity  which 
are  much  used  on  game  from  deer  to  elk,  having 
fairly  low  trajectory,  fair  accuracy,  and  enough 
power  for  all  but  the  largest  American  game. 

(D).  The  .30  U.  S.,  model  of  1906,  with  Spitzer 
bullet.  Typical  of  the  latest  4military  and  big 
game  cartridges  of  highest  velocity  associated  with 
fine  accuracy  and  great  shocking  power. 

The  calculations  are  my  own,  checked  against 
results  of  careful  tests,  and  are  close  enough  aver- 
ages for  all  practical  purposes.  Be  it  remem- 
bered, however,  that  trajectories  for  the  same  arm 
vary  a  little,  even  at  moderate  ranges,  according 
to  atmospheric  conditions  and  elevation  above  sea- 
level;  more  still,  according  to  the  vertical  devia- 
tion of  shots  fired  and  the  flip  or  stiffness  of  gun 
barrel.  Some  of  these  points  will  be  considered 
later. 

Trajectory  is  of  practical  interest  to  hunters 
in  several  ways : — 

(1).  It  shows  the  extreme  range  to  which  a 
30 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  BULLETS 

given  rifle  can  be  sighted  without  letting  the  bullet 
rise  more  than  a  negligible  amount  above  the  line 
of  aim;  also  the  farthest  range  throughout  which, 
without  allowing  for  distance,  it  will  neither  rise 
above  nor  fall  below  a  given  animal's  vitals  when 
aimed  at  their  center. 

For  example :  I  am  hunting  squirrels  with  a  .22 
taking  the  long-rifle  cartridge.  Squirrel  range 
may  be  anywhere  from  fifteen  to  fifty  yards.  I 
adjust  the  rear  sight,  by  targeting,  to  hit  a  nail 
head  at  thirty-five  yards.  The  bullet's  curve  then 
will  be  as  follows : — 

(TABLE  I.) 
35  YARD  TRAJECTORY  OF  .22  LONG-RIFLE. 

Muzzle  velocity   1,100  feet  a  second.     Top  of  front  sight 
2  inch  above  axis  of  bore. 


Trajectory, 

inches.                                     Distance,  yards. 

10 

20 

25 

30 

35 

40 

50 

60 

Above  or 

below  hori- 

zontal    .  .  . 

0.39 

0.47 

0.40 

0.25 

0 

—0.29 

—1.30 

—2.61 

Sight  al- 

lowance   .  . 

.35, 

.21 

.14 

.07 

0 

.07 

.21 

.35 

Above  or 

below  line 

of   aim    .  . 

0.04 

0.26   0.26 

0.18 

0 

—0.22 

—1.09 

—2.26 

The  minus  sign  indicates  drop  below  line   of 
sight. 

31 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

Trajectories  must  be  figured  from  the  horizontal 
plane,  which  is  a  straight  line  from  center  of 
muzzle  to  the  point  the  rear  sight  is  adjusted  for. 
But  the  curve  that  counts  in  hunting  is  that  above 
or  below  line  of  aim,  which  is  a  straight  line  from 
top  of  front  sight  to  the  same  point.  The  amount 
of  sight  allowance  depends  upon  height  of  front 
sight  (axis  of  a  telescope  sight)  and  is  propor- 
tional to  the  distance. 

In  this  instance  my  .22  bullet,  starting  half  an 
inch  below  line  of  aim,  cuts  upward  through  that 
line  at  ten  yards  from  the  muzzle,  rises  to  a  quar- 
ter-inch above  it,  then  falls  to  line  of  aim  at  thirty- 
five  yards.  If  I  shoot  forty  yards  with  the  same 
sighting,  I  must  aim  a  quarter  of  an  inch  high,  to 
allow  for  drop;  at  fifty  yards,  one  inch  high;  at 
sixty  yards,  two  and  one-quarter  inches  high. 

Can  I  improve  matters  by  adjusting  for  a  fifty 
yard  "  point-blank?  "  Let  me  see: — 

(TABLE  II.) 
50  YARD  TRAJECTORY  OF  .22  LONG-RIFLE. 


Trajectory, 
inches. 

Above  or 
below 
horizontal    .  . 
Sight  allow- 
ance            . 

10 

0.65 

.42 

0.23 

20 

0.99 
.33 

0.66 

Dis 
25 

1.05 
.25 

0.80 

stance 
30 

1.03 
.17 

0.86 

,  yarc 
40 

0.75 

.08 

0.67 

Is. 
50 

0 
0 

0 

60 

—1.05 
.08 

—0.97 

75 

—3.26 
.25 

—3.01 

Above  or  be- 
low line  of 
aim 

THE  FLIGHT  OF  BULLETS 

This  curve  is  too  high  for  squirrel  shooting. 
The  thirty-five  yard  point-blank  was  just  right. 
For  large  animals,  harder  to  approach,  fifty 
yards  might  be  the  minimum. 

(2).  Such  a  trajectory  table  shows  what  al- 
lowance to  make  for  drop  of  bullet  beyond  the 
point  to  which  the  sights  are  set.  In  making  a 
quick  shot  beyond  point-blank,  one  does  not  raise 
the  rear  sight.  Either  he  draws  a  coarse  bead, 
or  he  aims  as  much  higher  as  he  thinks  the  bullet 
will  drop.  The  latter  practice  is  best,  for  there 
is  less  guesswork  about  it. 

(3.  A  set  of  trajectory  tables  for  a  certain 
cartridge,  worked  out  for  various  ranges,  shows 
how  far  it  would  be  profitable  to  shoot  at  game 
of  a  given  size  with  that  charge — how  far  the 
bullet's  curve  will  be  low  enough  to  give  a  reason- 
able chance  of  hitting.  For  instance :  the  .22 
long-rifle  cartridge  will  put  ten  consecutive  shots 
in  a  three  inch  bull'seye  at  one  hundred  yards,  or 
into  an  eight-inch  bull'seye  at  two  hundred  yards? 
when  the  air  is  still. 

Does  this  mean  that  it  is  fit  to  use  at  such  ranges 
in  hunting?  Target  shooters  sometimes  forget 
that  there  are  no  sighting  shots  at  game.  The 
precision  required  in  judging  distance  with  .22 
long-rifle  sighted  for  one  hundred  and  two  hun- 
dred yards,  respectively,  is  shown  below: — 

33 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 


(TABLE  III.) 
100  YAED  TRAJECTORY  OF  .22  LONG-RIFLE. 


150 


—15.37 
.25 

—15.12 
(TABLE  IV.) 
200  YARD  TRAJECTORY  OF  .22  LONG-RIFLE. 


Trajectory, 
inches. 

Above  or 
below 
horizontal  .. 
Sight  allow- 
ance 

25 

3.30 

.38 

2.92 

50 

4.49 
.25 

4.24 

D] 
75 

3.48 
.13 

3.35 

stain 
100 

0 
0 

0 

2e,  yards. 
125 

—  6.38 
.13 

—  6.25 

Above  or 
below  line 
of  aim   .... 

Trajec- 
tory ins. 
Above 

25 

50 

or  be- 

low 

hori- 

zontal 

8.84 

15.59 

Sight 
allow- 

ance   .  . 

.44 

.38 

Above 

or  below 

line  of 

aim  .  .  . 

8.40 

15.21 

75 


20.12 


.31 


19.81 


Distance,  yards. 


100 


22.20 


.25 


21.95 


150 


17.93 


.13 


17.80 


175 


1067 


.06 


10.61 


200 


225 


—13.56 


.06 


—13.50 


.Everyone  now  and  then  makes  a  hit  with  the 
.22  at  such  ranges,  but  who  keeps  tally  of  the 
misses?  Flukes  are  no  proof  of  good  marksman- 
ship. No  rim-fire  .22  has  a  trajectory  enough 
flatter  than  the  above  to  make  any  material  diff- 
erence in  shooting.  Further  comment  is  needless. 

Let  us  examine  the  curves  of  some  cartridges 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  BULLETS 


that  are  fit  for  serious  hunting.     The  heights  are 
given  in  inches  and  fractional  parts : — 


TRAJECTORIES 


(TABLE  V.) 

OF  .32  WINCHESTER 
ING  CARTRIDGE. 


SELF-LOAD- 


Muzzle  velocity  1,392  feet  a  second. 


Height  of 
curve  at 
25  yards  

50 
0.6 

Rang* 
75 
1.3 

2  sighte 
100 
2.0 

i  to,  in 
150 
3.5 

yards. 
200 
5.2 

300 

50     

0 

1.4 

2.7 

5.8 

9.2 

17.2 

75     ... 

—  2.0 

0 

2.1 

6.7 

11.8 

100     
125      

—5.5 

—2.8 
—7.2 

0 
—3.7 

6.2 
4.0 

13.0 
12.5 

28.8 

150     

—  13.5 

—9.3 

0 

10.1 

34.0 

175     

—16.5 

—  5.6 

6.2 

200     

—25.9 

—13.5 

0 

31.7 

225      

—7.1 

250    '  

—18.1 

21.0 

350 

—29.5 

(TABLE  VI.) 

TRAJECTORIES  OF  .30-30,  SOFT-NOSE  170  GRAIN 
BULLET. 

Muzzle  velocity  2,008  feet  a  second. 


25 

50 
75 
100 
125 
150 
175 
200 
225 
250 
300 
350 
400 


Height  of 
curve  at 
yards  * 

R 
75 

0.6 

ange  si£ 
100 
0.9 

fhted  to 
150 
1.6 

,  in  yar 
200 

2.4 

ds. 
300 

0.6 

1.2 

2.6 

4.2 

7.7 

t 

0 

1.0 

3.0 

5.4 

—1.3 

0 

2.8 

5.9 

12.9 

—3.3 

—1.7 

1.8 

5.6 

—6.1 

—4.2 

0 

4.6 

15.2 

—7.5 

—2.6 

2.8 

—11.7 

—6.2 

0 

14.2 

—10.7 

—3.7 

—16.2 

—8.5 

19.2 

—21.2 

0 

—14.7 

—35.8 

SPORTING   FIREARMS 

(TABLE  VII.) 

TRAJECTORIES  OF  .30  U.  S.,  MODEL  OF  1906. 
Muzzle  velocity  2,700  feet  a  second. 


Height  of 
curve  at 
25  yards  

E 
150 
0.8 
1.3 
1.6 
1.4 
0.9 
0 
—1.4 
—3.1 

—  7!9 

iange  si 
200 
1.2 
2.0 
2.6 
2.9 
2.7 
2.3 
1.3 
0 
—1.8 
—4.1 
—6.8 
—10.0 

ghted  tc 
300 
2.0 
3.6 
5.0 
6.1 
6.3 
7.1 
6.8 
6.5 
6.2 
4.6 
2.7 
0 
—5.7 
—14.7 

>,  in  yar 
400 

ds. 
500 

50     

5.4 

7.6 

75 

100     

9.8 
'"l2.7 

14.1 

io'.i 

125      

150     

175 

200       

14.0 

22.4 

225 

250     

13.6 

"l'l'.2 
8.0 
0 
—10.0 
—21.5 

24.3 

24.1 
22.4 
17.1 
9.3 
0 
—11.4 

275     .      .... 

300     

350     

400 

450     

500     

550 

(TABLE  VIII.) 

150  YARD  TRAJECTORY  OF  .30  U.   S.,  WITH  SIGHT 
ALLOWANCE. 

Top  of  front  sight  one  inch   above  axis  of  bore. 


Trajec- 

Distance, yards. 

tory  ins, 

25 

50 

75 

100 

125 

150 

175 

200 

Above  or 

below 

horizontal. 

0.83 

1.28 

1.55 

1.40 

0.88 

0 

—1.36 

—3.01 

Sight  al- 

lowance .  . 

.84 

.67 

.50 

.33 

.17 

0 

.17 

.33 

Above  or 

below  line 

of  aim  .  .  . 

—0.01 

0.61 

1.05 

1.07 

0.71 

0 

—1.19 

—2.68. 

The  mean  vertical  deviation  of  the  ,30  U.  S., 
36 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  BULLETS 

'06,  service  cartridge  should  be  added,  pro- 
portionally, to  the  trajectories,  in  order  to  get 
the  average  height  of  shots  that  fly  high,  and  sub- 
tracted for  the  average  of  those  that  go  low,  for 
no  two  shots  from  the  same  gun  describe  exactly 
the  same  curve. 

This  is  a  matter  of  importance,  yet  it  is  seldom 
taken  into  account.  Trajectory  figures  are  trust- 
worthy, provided  the  gun  and  cartridge  are  steady 
performers;  otherwise  they  are  not.  It  is  of  little 
use  to  know  the  average  curve  of  a  series  of  fliers 
and  drop-shots. 

In  the  Forest  and  Stream  trajectory  test  of 
1885,  a  .50-95-300  rifle  showed  an  average  trajec- 
tory of  1.178  inches  midway  over  the  one  hundred 
yard  range.  This  was  the  mean  height  of  five 
consecutive  shots,  fired  from  machine  rest,  through 
a  paper  screen  at  fifty  yards.  A  .40-70-330  rifle, 
tested  in  the  same  way,  gave  an  average  rise  of 
2.452  inches  at  the  same  distance.  If  those  aver- 
ages alone  had  been  published,  most  readers  would 
have  concluded  that  the  curve  of  the  .50  was  much 
the  best.  But  the  shot-for-shot  records  showed 
that  the  .50-95  actually  varied  4.29  inches  ver- 
tically in  those  five  test  shots  at  fifty  yards,  where- 
as the  .40-70  varied  only  0.17  inch  in  its  five  shots. 

This  is  an  extreme  instance ;  still,  the  difference 
37 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

in  vertical  deviation  between  popular  cartridges 
of  to-day  is  too  great  to  be  overlooked  in  this  con- 
nection. Some  will  put  a  long  series  of  shots  into 
a  four-inch  bull'seye  at  two  hundred  yards ;  others 
will  often  miss  a  twelve-inch  one. 

Lieutenant  Townsend  Whelen,  U.  S.  A.,  one  of 
our  highest  authorities  on  modern  rifles,  has  shown 
that  the  .30  Krag  cartridge  (commonly  known  as 
the  .30-40),  and  others  of  the  two  thousand  foot 
class,  when  charged  with  soft-nose  bullets  for  hunt- 
ing, will  not  make  a  sure  hit  at  more  than  half  the 
range  that  a  .30  U.  S.  sharp-point  will,  the  arm  in 
each  case  being  sighted  to  its  farthest  effective 
"  point-blank  "  for  deer,  no  allowance  for  distance 
being  made  in  aiming.  He  adds  to  the  trajectory 
of  each  cartridge  its  mean  vertical  deviation  over 
the  range  sighted  for,  and  this  is  the  only  fair 
comparison. 

I  quite  agree  with  him  that  accuracy  and  tra- 
jectory must  be  considered  together,  not  separ- 
ately, and  that  makers  of  guns  and  ammunition 
should  publish  the  mean  radius  of  shots  fired  from 
machine  rest,  as  well  as  the  trajectory  curve,  for 
each  cartridge,  at  various  sporting  ranges.  It  is 
by  no  means  satisfactory  to  say  "  accurate  to  (so 
many)  yards,"  or  "  accurate  enough  for  hunting 
purposes."  The  buyer  is  the  man  to  define  what 

38 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  BULLETS 

"accurate"  means,  and  he  should  have  definite 
measurements  to  compare  by. 

If  a  gun  adds  to  a  man's  error  of  holding  a  quite 
appreciable  error  of  its  own,  it  is  fit  for  nothing 
but  the  scrap  heap.  If  high  velocity  could  only  be 
attained  by  sacrificing  precision  of  fire,  it  would 
not  be  worth  having.  It  is  entirely  practicable 
nowadays  to  make  rifles  and  ammunition  (of  any 
caliber  and  any  reasonable  power)  so  accurate 
that  they  will  shoot  as  close  as  a  good  marksman 
can  hold,  under  favorable  field  conditions.  No 
lower  standard  than  this  should  be  accepted  for 
any  rifle. 


39 


CHAPTER  III 

KILLING   POWER 

THE  all-round  effectiveness  of  a  bullet  de- 
pends upon  its  penetration  and  the  shock  it 
imparts.     Penetration  is  determined  chiefly 
by  the  length  of  bullet  in  calibers  and  its  resistance 
to   deformation.      Other   things   being   equal,   the 
longer  the  bullet  the  deeper  it  will  pierce.     Shock 
depends  upon  energy  spent  in  the  blow  and  upon 
area  and  nature  of  wound. 

In  comparing  the  killing  power  of  different 
charges  we  have  one  definite  datum  to  start  with: 
the  muzzle  energy  of  the  bullet.  Energy  is  ex- 
pressed in  foot-pounds,  which  means  the  force  re- 
quired to  lift  so  many  pounds  one  foot  from  the 
ground.  Energy  varies  directly  as  the  bullet's 
weight  and  as  the  square  of  its  velocity.  Speed, 
then,  is  of  greater  consequence  than  weight  of  bul- 
let. For  example : 

Weight 

of  bullet.                Muzzle  velocity.  Muzzle  energy. 

150  grains.  1,500  feet  a  second.  750  foot-pounds. 

300  grains.  1,500  feet  a  second.  1,499  foot-pounds. 

150  grains,  3,000  feet  a  second.  2,998  foot-pounds. 

40 


KILLING  POWER 

In  this  instance,  doubling  the  weight  only 
doubles  the  energy;  but  doubling  the  speed  quad- 
ruples the  energy.  Notice  that  caliber  has  noth- 
ing to  do  with  this.  Weight  and  velocity  deter- 
mine the  resulting  energy,  no  matter  what  the  cali- 
ber may  be. 

But  game  is  seldom  shot  at  the  muzzle  of  the 
gun.  The  energy  we  are  interested  in  is  energy  at 
point  of  impact,  wherever  that  may  be.  Bullets 
differ  very  much  in  the  degree  to  which  they  main- 
tain or  lose  speed  and  energy.  The  200-grain 
bullet  of  a  .401  self-loader  (very  short  and  bluff) 
loses  thirty-five  per  cent  of  its  energy  in  going  only 
one  hundred  yards;  the  300-grain  .405  (medium 
length  and  taper)  loses  twenty-six  per  cent;  the 
150-grain  .30  sharp-point  U.  S.  bullet  (relatively 
longer,  and  with  fine  taper)  loses  but  sixteen  and 
one-half  per  cent  energy  in  the  same  distance. 
Here  is  another  reason  for  observing  critically  the 
length  of  bullet  in  calibers  (i.  e.,  length  in  propor- 
tion to  diameter)  when  choosing  a  cartridge. 

Let  us  now  compare  the  muzzle  energies  of  the 
leading  hunting  cartridges,  this  being  the  first  step 
toward  estimating  their  relative  efficiency  in  hunt- 
ing. I  have  selected  fifty  or  more  standard  ones, 
ranging  from  the  weakest  to  the  most  powerful 
that  are  used  in  magazine  arms  at  the  date  of  this 

41 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

writing.  Just  now  we  are  entering  a  new  era  of 
military  and  sporting  firearms.  Improved  am- 
munition of  American  design  will  probably  be  on 
the  market  before  long.  Meantime,  in  order  to  be 
up-to-date,  I  must  use  a  number  of  foreign  ones 
for  illustration  of  recent  progress  in  ammunition 
for  big  game. 

In  classifying  cartridges  under  the  three  heads 
of  big  game,  medium  game,  and  small  game  am- 
munition, I  have  drawn  the  dividing  lines  at  two 
thousand  and  at  seven  hundred  foot-pounds  muzzle 
energy,  respectively.  Judging  from  results  ob- 
served in  the  field,  I  think  this  rating  is  as  fair  as 
any  arbitrary  standard  can  be.  Much,  of  course, 
depends  upon  local  conditions  and  the  method  of 
hunting.  The  .25-35,  for  example,  is  an  excellent 
little  cartridge  for  all-round  use  in  a  country  where 
turkeys  or  geese  and  small  mammals  are  the  com- 
monest game,  yet  where  deer  and  black  bear  are 
met  now  and  then.  If  deer  and  bear  were  plenti- 
ful enough  to  be  the  main  object  of  chase,  one 
would  prefer  a  cartridge  of  greater  energy. 

When  a  man  is  hunting  sheep,  goats,  or  elk,  with 
possible  grizzlies  as  a  side  issue,  the  .30  U.  S.  could 
be  recommended  without  question.  If  he  were 
making  a  specialty  of  grizzlies,  or  of  the  more 
formidable  Alaskan  or  polar  bears,  he  might  do 

42 


KILLING  POWER 

well  to  accept  the  burden  and  kick  of  a  .333  or 
a  .425.  The  largest  game  on  this  continent  has 
been  killed  by  thousands  with  rifles  using  am- 
munition that  I  class  as  "  medium  game."  I 
have  known  an  Arkansas  hunter  who  was  credited 
with  having  killed  over  five  hundred  black  bears  in 
the  brakes  and  cypress  sloughs  surrounding  his 
own  plantation,  and  he  would  scarcely  touch  any 
other  rifle  than  the  .32-20  Winchester  model  of 
1873,  which  is  here  rated  as  for  small  game. 

Three  weeks  ago,  one  of  my  hunting  partners, 
while  trout  fishing,  came  upon  a  two-year-old  bear 
in  the  thicket.  He  knocked  it  down  by  a  lucky 
throw  of  a  stone  no  bigger  than  a  billiard  ball, 
hitting  the  beast  at  butt  of  the  ear,  and  finished  it 
with  his  pocket  knife.  Some  years  earlier,  an- 
other partner  of  mine,  within  a  mile  of  this  same 
place,  shot  a  small  bear  in  the  head  with  a  .44-40 
and  jumped  into  the  scrimmage  to  kick  his  dogs 
loose.  The  bear  was  practically  unhurt  and 
turned  on  him.  "  Doc  "  conquered,  but  he  came 
to  me  in  a  condition  that  he  described  as  "  nigh 
breechless."  One  can  draw  his  own  inferences 
about  proper  weapons  for  bears. 

The  ballistics  of  this  or  that  cartridge  vary 
somewhat  according  to  the  factory  loading  it. 
Where  this  variation  is  considerable,  I  give  the 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

data  supplied  by  different  ammunition  companies. 
The  following  abbreviations  are  used:  C7.  M.  C.9 
Union  Metallic  Cartridge  Co.;  U.  S.9  United 
States  Cartridge  Co. ;  Win.,  Winchester  Repeating 
Arms  Co.;  B.,  blunt  headed  bullet  (whether 
rounded  or  flat  tipped)  ;  S.,  sharp-point  bullet. 
Ballistics  of  foreign  cartridges  are  those  of  for- 
eign, not  domestic,  loading.  Length  of  bullet 
may  be  judged  from  its  weight,  as  contrasted  with 
others  of  the  same  caliber. 


BIG  GAME  CARTRIDGES. 


Bullet 
grains. 
Caliber, 

inch.  Cartridge. 

.256  (6.5  mm.)  Mauser  and  Mannl 157 

.256  6.5  mm.)   Mauser  and  Mannl 139 

.256   (6.5mm.)  Mannlicher-Schoenauer .  123. 

.278   (7  mm.)   Mauser  and  Mannl 173 

.278   (7  mm.)   Mauser  and  Mannl 154 

.278   (7  mm.)  Mauser  and  Mannl 139 

.280  Ross 140 

.280  Ross 160 

.30  Krag,  '98   (.30-40) 220 

.30  Krag,  Hudson-Thomas 202 

.30  U.  S.,  '06,  service 150 

.30  U.  S.,  match 172 

.315   (8  mm.)  Mauser  and  Mannl 236 

.315   (8  mm.)   Mauser  and  Mannl 154 

.315  8  mm.)   Mannlicher-Schoenauer.,    244 
.315  (8  mm.)  Mannlicher-Schoenauer. .  .170 

.333  Jeffery-Mauser 250 

.35  Win.,  model  1895 250 

.350  Rigby-Mauser    225 

44 


M.Vel.  M.En. 
ft.secs.  ft.lbs. 


B. 

2313 

1960 

S. 

2887 

2585 

S. 

2592 

1845 

B. 

2231 

2025 

S. 

2740 

2568 

S. 

2920 

2632 

S. 

3150 

3095 

S. 

2950 

3088 

B. 

2005 

1972 

S. 

2160 

2094 

S. 

2700 

2429 

S. 

2580 

2540 

B. 

2034 

2221 

S. 

2882 

2823 

B. 

2165 

2540 

S. 

2411 

2199 

S. 

2600 

4200 

B. 

2200 

2687 

S. 

2572 

3306 

KILLING  POWER 

.355    (9mm.)    Mannlicher 281  B.  2100  2700 

.401  Win.,  self-loader 200  B.  2142  2038 

.401  Win.,  self-loader 250  B.  1875  1952 

.405  Win.,  model  1895 300  B.  2204  3237 

.413    (10.5mm.)   Mannlicher 309  B.  2230  2935 

.425  Westley  Richards-Mauser 410   S.  2350  5022 

.441   (llmm.)  Mauser 322  B.  2461  3969 


MEDIUM  GAME  CARTRIDGES. 


.22  High  Power  Savage  68 

B. 

2800 

1200 

.25-35  Win.  and  Savage  117 

B. 

2030 

1070 

.25-35  Rem.,  Stand.,  Stev     117 

B. 

2127 

1175 

.25-35  Rem.,  Stand.,  self-load- 

ing    101 

S. 

2275 

1158 

.25-36  Marlin  117 

B. 

1855 

893 

U.M.C. 

.30-30  Win.,  Marl.,  Sav  170 

B. 

2008 

1522 

.30-30  Rem.,  Stand.,  Stev     170 

B. 

2020 

1540 

.30-30  Rem.,  Stand.,  self-load- 

ing    151 

S. 

2020 

1450 

.303  Savage  195 

B. 

1952 

1658 

U.M.C. 

.32-40  Win.,  Marl.,  Sav.,  H.V..165 

B. 

2065 

1558 

U.M.C. 

.32-40  Win.,  Marl.,  Sav.,  H.V..165 

B. 

1752 

1125 

Win. 

.32  Special  Win.  and  Marl  165 

B. 

2112 

1684 

.32  Rem.,  Stand.,  Stev  165 

B. 

2057 

1550 

.32  Win.,  self-loading  165 

B. 

1392 

710 

.33  Win  200 

B. 

2056 

1878 

.35  Rem.,  Stand.,  Stev  200 

B. 

2000 

1776 

.35  Rem.,  Stand.,  self-loading.  170 

S. 

2050 

1585 

.35  Win.,  self-loading  180 

B. 

1396 

779 

.351  Win.,  self-loading  180 

B. 

1861 

1385 

.38-55  Win.,  Marl.,  Sav.,  H.V..255 

B. 

1700 

1635 

U.M.C. 

.38-55  Win.,  Marl.,  Sav.,  H.V..255 

B. 

1593 

1437 

Win. 

.40-65  Win.  and  Marl.,  H.V  253 

B. 

1790 

1800 

SMALL  GAME  CARTRIDGES. 

.22    short,    rim-fire SOB.  900         54  U.M.C. 

.22    short,    rim-fire 30  B.  975         63  U.M.C. 

.22   long,   rim-fire 30  B.  1000         66 

.22   long-rifle  and  armory,   rim- 
fire    40  B.  1100       108 

.22  long-rifle,  smokeless,  rim-fire  40  B.  983         86 

45 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 


.22   automatic,   rim-fire  45  B. 

1036 

107  U.M.C. 

.22    automatic,    rim-fire  45  B. 

1000 

100  U.S. 

.22   automatic,   rim-fire  45  B. 

903 

82  Win. 

.22-7  Win.,  rim  fire  model  1890.  .   45  B. 

1150 

132  U.S. 

.22-7  Win.,  rim  fire  model  1890.  .   45  B. 

1107 

123  Win. 

.22-7  Win.,  rim  fire  model  1890.  .   45  B. 

1036 

107  U.M.C. 

.22-13-45   Win.,   center-fire             45  B. 

1541 

237 

.25    Stevens,   rim-fire  67  B. 

1161 

201 

.25-20  Win.,  single-shot  86  B. 

1468 

412 

.25-20  Win.,  &  Marl.,  repeater.   86  B. 

1547 

457  U.M.C. 

.25-20  Win.,  &  Marl.,  repeater.   86  B. 

1376 

362  Win. 

.25-20  Win.,  &  Marl.,  repeater, 

H.    V  86  B. 

1711 

560 

.32-20  Win.,  &  Marl  100  B. 

1325 

390  U.M.C. 

.32-20   Win.,   &   Marl  115  B. 

1222 

382  Win. 

.32-20  Win.,  &  Marl.,  H.  V....100  B. 

1575 

551  U.M.C. 

.32-20  Win.,  &  Marl.,  H.  V....115  B. 

1640 

690  Win. 

One  material  fact  that  shows  conspicuously  in 
these  tables  is  that  caliber  alone  is  no  gauge  of 
power.  Let  the  novice  rid  himself,  once  and  for 
all,  of  the  notion  that  a  big  bore  necessarily  means 
a  powerful  rifle  and  a  small  bore  means  a  weak 
one.  This  never  was  true,  even  in  the  days  of 
round  bullets.  As  far  back  as  the  American 
Revolution  our  frontiersmen  of  the  Alleghanies 
discovered  and  adopted  the  "  express  "  system  of 
driving  small  bullets  at  very  high  speed,  thus 
getting  the  maximum  efficiency  out  of  a  given 
weight  of  lead. 

In  our  tables  of  modern  ammunition  we  see  a 
.35  caliber  Winchester  of  779  foot-pounds  muzzle 
energy,  and  another  .35  Winchester  of  2,687  foot- 
pounds. The  former  is  rather  light  .for  deer 

46 


KILLING  POWER 

shooting,  and  the  latter  will  knock  out  a  grizzly 
bear.  Again,  we  note  a  bullet  of  only  .256  inch 
diameter  and  139  grains  weight,  that  has  a  muzzle 
energy  of  2,585  foot-pounds,  which  is  much 
greater  than  that  of  any  .45  or  .50  caliber  cart- 
ridge loaded  with  black  gunpowder  that  ever  was 
used  in  a  repeating  arm.  It  attains  this  power  by 
a  muzzle  velocity  of  2,887  feet  a  second. 

We  come,  now,  to  a  matter  of  caliber  that  does 
affect  killing  power.  It  is  not  the  normal  diam- 
eter of  the  bullet,  but  its  diameter  when  expanded 
by  impact.  This  latter  factor  determines,  in 
great  degree,  how  much  of  the  projectile's  energy 
will  actually  be  utilized  in  shocking  the  thing 
struck.  Here  is  where  the  question  of  big  bores 
vs.  small  bores  really  hinges. 

The  pressure  and  heat  of  smokeless  powder 
and  the  quick  twist  of  rifling  required  by  modern 
arms  compel  us  to  use  bullets  wholly  or  partly 
encased  in  jackets  of  hard  metal.  The  fault  of  a 
f ull- j  acketed  bullet  is  that,  unless  driven  at  ex- 
tremely high  speed,  it  only  punches  a  small  hole 
through  a  beast,  piercing  so  easily  that  it  does 
not  expend  much  of  its  energy  on  the  object 
struck,  but  wastes  it  in  flight  beyond.  Such  a 
missile  can  pass  close  to  a  vital  organ  without 
disturbing  it,  close  to  a  nerve  without  severely 

47 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

shocking  it,  close  to  a  blood  vessel  without  rup- 
turing it.  The  hole  of  exit  is  little  if  any  larger 
than  that  of  entrance,  and  both  of  them  contract 
so  as  not  to  let  out  blood. 

A  good  bullet  for  hunting  any  big  game  except 
the  greater  pachyderms  is  one  that  will  expand 
when  it  hits,  and  still  hold  together  so  as  to  pene- 
trate deeply.  Such  a  bullet  "  pulps  "  tissue  all 
around  its  course,  drives  body  fluids  violently 
away  from  it,  smashes  bones  instead  of  drilling 
them,  paralyzes  nerves,  and  either  imparts  its  full 
blow  by  stopping  in  the  body  or  tears  a  big  hole  of 
exit  through  which  the  life-blood  rapidly  drains. 
This  sounds  gruesome,  but  in  fact  it  is  humane; 
for  the  quicker  a  beast  is  knocked  down  and  dis- 
patched, the  better  it  is  for  all  concerned. 

To  make  a  manteled  bullet  expand  on  impact, 
its  tip  must  be  so  modified  as  to  open  and  let  part 
of  the  lead  core  flatten  out.  In  a  full-jacketed 
bullet  the  metal  casing  does  not  cover  the  butt 
end.  If  the  tip,  then,  is  split  or  filed  across,  there 
is  risk  of  the  lead  core  being  blown  forward  and 
through  it,  stripping  the  jacket  and  perhaps  lodg- 
ing it  in  the  gun  barrel.  If  this  happens,  and  is 
not  discovered  before  the  next  shot,  the  barrel 
will  either  be  bulged  or  burst.  Special  bullets  are 
manufactured  abroad  that  have  the  head  split 

48 


KILLING  POWER 

back  of  the  tip  (fig.  <5)  leaving  the  latter  intact. 


FIGURE  6. 

Their  effectiveness  depends  upon  so  many  con- 
tingencies that  they  are  scarcely  to  be  recom- 
mended. 

Hollow  bullets  have  been  employed  for  many 
years.  If  driven  to  low  speed  the  cavity  must 
be  deep  (fig.  /)  to  insure  expansion;  if  at  higher 
speed,  it  must  be  shallower  (fig.  8)  or  the  missile 


FlGUBE  7.  FlGUBE  8. 

will  spread  prematurely  and  fly  to  fragments, 
making  only  a  superficial  wound.  For  cartridges 
of  great  velocity  the  hollow  must  be  shallow  (fig. 
p)  and  backed  by  a  long  core  of  lead.  In  such 


FIGURE  9. 

case  a  plug,  wedge,  or  steel  ball  (Hoxie  bullet) 

49 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

may  be  fitted  into  the  mouth  of  the  cavity  to 
compel  the  tip  to  spread  when  its  hits. 

In  general  it  may  be  said  of  hollow  bullets  that 
they  are  ill-balanced  and  therefore  inaccurate  at 
any  but  short  range.  Their  action  is  uncertain, 
because  velocity  depends  upon  range,  animals 
vary  a  great  deal  in  toughness  of  hide  and  tissue, 
and  a  hollow  bullet  that  would  merely  flatten  on 
flesh  or  viscera  might  fly  to  flinders  on  bone. 

Up  to  date,  the  favorite  expanding  bullet  in 
our  country  is  what  is  called  the  "  soft-nose " 
(figs.  JO,  12).  This  is  solid  throughout,  but 


FIGURE  10.  FIGURE  12. 

has  the  base  covered  by  the  hard  metal  envelope 
and  the  tip  left  with  more  or  less  of  the  lead  core 
exposed.  A  well  proportioned  and  well  made 
bullet  of  this  sort  generally  gives  satisfaction.  Its 
expansion  depends  upon  how  much  lead  is  left 
naked  at  the  tip,  this  being  regulated  according 
to  the  velocity  of  impact.  It  will  not  do  to  ex- 
pose too  much  of  it,  nor  to  make  the  tip  flat,  be- 
cause such  a  ball  is  easily  deformed  and  is  prone  to 
jam  when  fed  upward  at  ajslant  from  the  maga- 

50 


KILLING  POWER 

zine;  neither  will  it  fly  accurately,  nor  with  nor- 
mal speed. 

A  short  soft-nose  bullet  (fig.  10)  is  not  so  reli- 
able as  a  long  one  (fig.  12),  because  it  upsets 
throughout  so  much  of  its  length  (fig.  Il)  that  it 


FIGURE  11. 


is  prone  to  go  to  pieces,  especially  on  bone,  and 
fail  to  pierce  deep  enough.  A  long  bullet  mush- 
rooms at  the  tip  only  (fig.  7j)  and  has  a  solid 


FIGURE  13. 

cylinder  back  of  it  to  drive  ahead.  Thickness  of 
jacket  modifies  such  action  a  good  deal;  also  soft- 
ness or  hardness  of  the  leaden  core. 

Any  soft-nose  bullet  should  have  its  length, 
strength  of  mantel,  and  temper  and  relative  ex- 
posure of  tip  carefully  proportioned  to  the  power 
of  the  gun  and  the  character  of  game  hunted; 
otherwise  it  will  not  give  satisfaction.  Soft-nose 

51 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

bullets  of  Spitzer  shape,  to  be  propelled  at  very 
high  speed,  have  but  little  of  the  point  left  naked 
(fig.  14).  They  are  more  likely  to  be  accurate 
fliers  than  round-headed  ones. 


FIGURE  14. 

The  fact  that  the  base  of  a  soft-nose  is  covered 
by  the  metal  envelope  affects  its  upsettage  on  fir- 
ing. Hence  it  may  be  advisable  to  make  such 
bullets  a  trifle  super-caliber,  to  insure  that  they 
seal  the  bore  gas-tight  when  they  issue  from  the 
cartridge  shell.  Lack  of  care  in  this  respect  ac- 
counts, I  think,  for  much  of  the  inaccuracy  that 
has  been  observed  with  bullets  of  this  class. 

Recently  a  capped  bullet  has  been  introduced 
(fig.  15)  consisting  of  a  cylindrical  core  of  lead 


FIGURE  15. 

encased  in  hard  metal,  dished  out  in  front  like  the 
"  man-stopper "  revolver  bullet,  and  covered  at 
the  head  with  a  hollow  cap  of  thin  copper.  It 
expands  with  certainty,  yet  holds  together  and 

52 


KILLING  POWER 

penetrates  well,  inflicting  a  very  severe  wound. 
In  Spitzer  bullets  the  cap  is  pointed  and  the  front 
of  core  has  a  shallow  cavity  (fig.  1(5). 


FIGUEE  16. 

Until  further  reports  are  received  from  the 
field,  covering  all  kinds  of  big  game  hunting,  it  is 
too  early  to  determine  whether  the  expanding  prin- 
ciple should  or  should  not  be  applied  to  Spitzer 
bullets  for  general  hunting.  The  sharp-point 
bullet,  with  its  high  velocity,  has  revolutionized 
military  ammunition  and  is  likely  to  do  the  same 
for  sporting  arms  of  all  calibers.  When  used  in 
proper  barrels  it  is  the  most  accurate  missile 
known.  It  maintains  speed  and  energy  so  much 
better  than  those  with  rounded  or  ogival  head  that 
ballistic  tables  employed  in  the  old  way  will  not 
serve  to  calculate  its  curve  of  flight,  which  is 
much  lower  than  that  of  an  old-style  projectile  of 
the  same  caliber,  same  weight,  and  same  muzzle 
velocity. 

More  extraordinary  still  is  the  fact  that  instead 
of  the  sharp-point  penetrating  bone  or  tissue  more 
easily  and  with  less  disruption  of  channel,  as  we 
naturally  would  expect,  it  will,  when  striking  at 

53 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

very  high  speed,  smash  and  pulp  a  considerable 
area  around  the  bullet's  course,  thereby  deliver- 
ing a  paralyzing,  knock-out  blow.  It  is  the  full- 
jacketed  Spitzer  of  which  I  speak — the  regular 
military  pattern. 

At  the  extreme  speed  of  close  quarters  it  is 
checked  or  stopped  by  less  thickness  of  flesh  or 
bone  than  at  long  range.  If  it  goes  through,  the 
wound  of  exit  is  large  and  lacerated.  All  this  de- 
pends upon  very  high  velocity,  the  minimum  re- 
quired for  knock-out  effect  seeming  to  be  about 
2,000  feet  a  second  at  point  of  impact  (not  muzzle 
of  gun)  which  corresponds  to  a  range  of  300  yards 
with  the  .30  Springfield-Mauser*  used  by  our  army 
and  navy.  At  low  speed  the  Spitzer  merely  drills 
a  small  hole,  like  that  of  the  older  military  bullet. 

To  sum  up:  energy  actually  utilized  in  shock 
depends  upon  resistance  offered  by  the  animal's 
body.  Resistance,  so  far  as  the  missile  is  con- 
cerned, depends  upon  (1)  the  size  to  which  the 
bullet  mushrooms,  or  (2)  upon  the  speed  of  bullet 
being  so  high  that  tissues  and  body  fluids  can- 
not give  way  easily  to  let  the  projectile  pass,  but 

*  I  call  our  service  arm  the  Springfield-Mauser  because 
it  is  a  Mauser  action  slightly  modified  by  our  ordnance 
board.  A  second-hand  gun  of  another  kind  has  recently 
been  marketed  under  the  trade  name  of  "  Springfield- 
Mauser,"  which  will  not  take  our  service  ammunition  and 
js  inferior  in  every  respect. 

54 


KILLING  POWER 

set  up  a  sudden  and  violent  pressure  all  around 
the  neighborhood  of  the  wound,  with  consequent 
shattering  effect  over  a  large  area. 

A  large  bullet  is  more  effective  than  a  small  one 
provided  that  its  velocity  is  correspondingly 
great  and  that  it  is  not  too  short  to  maintain 
energy  and  hold  together  so  as  to  penetrate. 
The  minimum  length  permissible,  in  calibers,  that 
I  mentioned  in  Chapter  I,  is  a  good  rule-of-thumb 
by  which  to  judge  force  as  well  as  accuracy.  In 
case  of  doubt,  use  a  still  longer  bullet.  Short 
bullets  are  not  fit  to  use  on  any  but  soft-skinned 
game,  and  then  only  at  short  range.  To  trust 
them  on  dangerous  beasts  is  folly. 

American  riflemen  of  the  old  school  inclined 
toward  very  light  charges.  There  was  a  time 
when  game  was  so  plentiful  and  (relatively)  so 
unwary  that  a  hunter  generally  had  a  fair  chance 
to  display  exquisite  marksmanship — the  art  of  the 
nail-driver — at  the  short  ranges  that  were  then 
the  rule. 

Conditions  change.  We  take  running  shots 
nowadays  and  long  shots  that  our  forefathers 
would  have  considered  foolish.  In  such  hunting 
it  is  utterly  impossible  to  "  put  the  bullet  in  the 
right  place  "  so  unfailingly  as  of  yore.  To  be 
humane,  then — to  be  sportsmen  instead  of  butchers 

55 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

and  bunglers — we  must  use  charges  of  much 
greater  power  than  were  customary  a  quarter  of  a 
century  ago.  This  we  still  can  do  with  small 
bores,  owing  to  improved  ammunition. 

The  advantages  of  a  small  bore  are  plain:  a 
light  and  handy  weapon,  comfortable  in  the  saddle 
or  on  an  all-day  tramp,  light  ammunition,  moder- 
ate recoil,  low  trajectory,  fine  accuracy,  and  effi- 
ciency to  the  farthest  sporting  ranges. 

Having  spoken  at  length  of  big  game  ammuni- 
tion, I  may  add  a  few  words  on  the  much  simpler 
matter  of  cartridges  for  small  game. 

The  .22  short,  of  good  make,  is  very  accurate 
up  to  thirty-five  yards,  but  unreliable  beyond 
fifty.  Its  proper  use  is  for  miniature  target  prac- 
tice and  exterminating  vermin.  To  employ  so 
feeble  a  charge  on  squirrels,  rabbits,  or  game 
birds  is  cruel,  because  many  will  escape  in  crippled 
condition.  The  .22  long  is  not  so  accurate  and 
has  no  superior  merit  of  any  kind,  the  difference 
in  trajectory  and  killing  power  between  it  and  the 
.22  short  being  microscopic. 

The  .22  long-rifle  is  the  most  accurate  rim-fire 
cartridge  of  its  caliber.  Varieties  of  it  called 
armory  cartridges,  and  known  as  the  .22  Krag,  .22 
U.  S.,  and  .22  Stevens-Pope,  differ  only  in  hav- 
ing the  bullet  firmly  seated  in  the  shell  so  as  not 

56 


KILLING  POWER 

to  pull  out  in  the  barrel  throat  when  a  loaded  cart- 
ridge is  ejected — a  distinct  advantage.  The  .22 
automatic  is  of  variable  merit,  as  will  be  seen  in 
the  table.  The  best  rim-fire  hunting  cartridge  of 
this  caliber  is  the  .22-7  Winchester,  model  of 
1890.  It  is  accurate  to  one  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  and  has  considerably  greater  killing  power 
than  either  of  the  others ;  in  fact  it  is  the  only  .22 
rim-fire  that  should  be  used  on  game  larger  than 
squirrels. 

For  turkeys,  geese,  and  the  lesser  animals,  noth- 
ing under  a  .25  caliber  should  be  used,  unless 
it  be  the  .22-15-60  Stevens,  which  is  limited  to 
single-loaders,  or  the  new  .22  high  power.  The 
.25-20  is  a  standard  charge  for  such  game  when 
hunted  near  settlements. 

A  much  better  cartridge,  wherever  it  can  safely 
be  used,  is  the  .25-35.  This  is  the  most  accurate 
medium  power  charge  of  the  2,000  foot-second 
class  that  we  have  at  present  and  gives  but  half 
the  recoil  of  a  .30-30.  It  is  far  more  reliable  in 
windy  weather  than  a  .25-20.  With  a  telescope 
sight  on  the  rifle,  sharpshooting  at  geese  and  other 
wary  game  can  be  practiced  with  deadly  effect  at 
two  hundred  yards,  or  even  farther. 

The  .22  high-power  cartridge,  recently  intro- 
duced, has  not  been  standarized  at  the  time  of  this 

57 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

writing.  Its  ballistics,  as  given  in  my  table,  are 
subject  to  modification.  It  is  a  striking  example 
of  the  killing  power  of  a  very  small,  solid,  sharp- 
point  bullet,  when  driven  at  great  speed.  Al- 
though the  missile  weighs  only  68  grains,  it  is 
more  destructive  than  the  180-grain  bullet  of  a 
.35  Winchester  self-loader;  and  it  is  also  more 
accurate. 


CHAPTER    IV 

RIFLE    MECHANISMS    AND    MATERIALS 

THE  typical  sporting  rifle  of  to-day  is  a  re- 
peating arm.  Repeaters  are  classified  ac- 
cording to  form  of  magazine  and  system 
of  breech  mechanism. 

A  tubular  magazine  under  the  barrel  has  sev- 
eral defects  and  no  compensating  merits.  It  is 
needlessly  cumbersome  and  complicated,  easily  in- 
jured, awkward  to  recharge,  prone  to  make  a  rifle 
jam  in  feeding.  The  position  of  the  cartridge, 
end  to  end,  is  unsafe  in  principle.  Soft-nose 
bullets  are  battered  or  scraped,  and  sharp-points 
cannot  be  used  at  all,  in  a  tubular  magazine.  The 
balance  and  symmetry  of  the  gun  are  spoiled. 

A  box  magazine,  with  cartridges  superimposed, 
has  none  of  these  faults.  But  if  it  protrudes 
much  in  front  of  the  trigger  guard  it  is  unsightly 
and  always  in  the  way.  Since  it  sticks  out  at 
the  very  point  where  a  gun  should  balance,  it  will 
be  a  wearying  annoyance  on  every  all-day  trip. 

A  revolving  magazine  inside  the  receiver  is  a 
59 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

further  improvement.  It  is  somewhat  bothersome 
to  recharge,  hard  to  unload,  and  occasionally  may 
balk  in  feeding. 

Decidedly  the  best  magazine  is  a  flat  one  within 
the  receiver,  flush  with  the  forearm,  carrying 
cartridges  in  double  column,  and  charged  either 
by  clips  or  by  dropping  the  cartridges  in  and 
settling  them  to  place  by  one  or  two  slight  motions 
of  a  finger  lever. 

Whatever  the  system  of  magazine,  there  should 
be  a  cut-off  whereby  the  arm  can  be  used  as  a 
single-loader,  so  that  special  ammunition  may  be 
used  when  desired,  with  a  magazine  full  of  regular 
cartridges  in  reserve. 

As  regards  method  of  operating,  magazine  rifles 
are  either  trombone  action,  lever  action,  bolt  ac- 
tion or  self-loading  arms. 

The  trombone  action  with  sliding  forearm 
("pump  gun")  can  be  fired  faster,  with  good 
aim,  than  any  other  repeater  that  is  operated  by 
hand.  It  is  the  only  system,  except  the  self- 
loader,  that  can  compete  with  a  double  barrel  in 
getting  in  a  quick  and  sure  second  shot.  In  rifles 
it  is  the  best  hand-functioned  mechanism  for  small 
cartridges.  For  heavy  charges  it  is  not  reliable, 
since  it  has  not  enough  power  to  feed  and  extract 
refractory  cartridges.  It  is  too  frail  for  weapons 

60 


MECHANISMS  AND  MATERIALS 

that  are  to  be  taken  into  rough  service  in  remote 
regions. 

Lever  actions  vary  a  good  deal  in  merit.  As  a 
class,  they  are  quite  satisfactory  for  ammunition 
of  medium  power,  and  in  arms  that  are  to  be  used 
only  on  short  and  easy  trips.  If  the  bolt  is  closed 
by  double  locking  bolts  near  head  of  cartridge,  as 
in  the  ?86  model  Winchester,  the  action  will  with- 
stand any  strain  that  a  barrel  can  stand.  If, 
however,  there  is  but  one  locking  bolt,  and  it  in  the 
rear,  there  will  be  a  certain  spring  or  play  of  the 
bolt  proper  which  affects  accuracy.  It  is  unreli- 
able in  case  of  a  defective  high-power  cartridge  or 
an  unnoticed  obstruction  in  the  barrel.  In  some 
actions  of  this  character  the  lever,  being  held  only 
friction-tight,  soon  wears  shackly  and  sags  in  a 
most  annoying  way. 

Both  lever  and  trombone  actions  are  prone  to 
jam,  especially  if  the  rifle  be  uptilted  in  reload- 
ing, as  when  one  lowers  his  rifle  from  the  shoulder 
while  working  the  lever  or  slide.  Such  balks 
generally  occur  at  the  worst  possible  moment. 
I  have  had  this  happen  with  a  brand  new  weapon 
at  the  second  shot.  While  I  was  prying  at  the 
cartridge  a  deer  actually  stopped  as  if  to  hear 
what  I  had  to  say  about  the  matter.  Then  it 
took  genuine  alarm. 

61 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

Nearly  all  rifles  that  operate  by  lever  or  trom- 
bone slide  are  complicated,  hard  to  take  apart  for 
cleaning  or  repair,  and  hard  to  reassemble. 
There  is  a  multitude  of  small  parts  that  are  likely 
to  roll  away  and  be  lost  while  you  are  struggling 
to  fit  things  together.  You  must  have  two  or 
three  screwdrivers  and  a  pin  punch  to  work  with. 
The  j  ob  will  take  from  half  an  hour  to  half  a  day, 
depending  upon  whether  you  happen  to  have 
printed  instructions  to  go  by  or  only  the  light  of 
nature  and  average  awkwardness.  Of  course,  if 
your  hunting  range  is  near  home,  accidents  will 
be  few  and  the  gunsmith  handy;  but  if  you  are 
forty  miles  from  Nowhere,  with  a  gun  that  has 
dropped  in  the  mud,  or  in  the  water,  or  has  got 
sanded,  or  has  snapped  off  a  spring,  or  broken 
a  firing-pin,  and  you  have  no  tool  to  work  with 
but  the  file  you  sharpen  your  axe  with — then  is 
the  time  that  good  little  deer  should  not  stop  to 
listen. 

No  lever  or  trombone  action  can  be  cleaned 
from  the  breech  (the  only  way  that  a  good  rifle 
should  be  cleaned)  unless  it  has  a  detachable  bar- 
rel. The  common  pattern  of  take-down  works 
by  an  interrupted  screw  at  the  breech.  The  bar- 
rel thereby  is  weakened  at  the  very  point  where 
it  should  be  strongest.  Such  a  mechanism  will 

62 


MECHANISMS  AND  MATERIALS 

soon  wear  shaky.     I  have  yet  to  see  a  take-down 
action  that  is  trustworthy  for  big  game  rifles. 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  remarked  that 
everybody  hates  to  clean  a  gun  when  he  comes  in 
at  night,  fagged  out  from  a  hard  day's  chase. 
The  easier  the  gun  is  to  clean,  the  likelier  it  is 
to  be  cleaned.  And  a  night  or  two  of  neglect  may 
ruin  the  finest  rifle  in  the  world. 

It  is  significant  that  no  lever  or  trombone  ac- 
tion has  ever  passed  a  modern  ordnance  board 
or  been  adopted  by  any  civilized  army.  While 
the  requirements  of  rifles  for  small  game  and  tar- 
get practice  are  less  stringent  than  for  those 
built  for  military  service,  there  is  no  difference 
at  all  between  those  of  big  game  rifles  and  mili- 
tary ones,  as  regards  strength,  simplicity,  ease 
of  dismounting,  and  certainty  of  working  prop- 
erly in  any  emergency.  There  was  a  time  when 
ordnance  boards  were  conservative  to  a  fault, 
and  when  private  manufacturers  took  the  lead  in 
improving  firearms,  but  that  time  has  past.  The 
sportsman  of  to-day  who  goes  far  into  wild  re- 
gions, and  who  must  depend  upon  his  rifle  at  times 
to  preserve  his  life,  should  give  close  heed  to  the 
latest  and  best  in  military  weapons,  for  the  high- 
est technical  skill  in  the  world  is  engaged  on  that 
class  of  firearms. 

63 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

Bolt  action  repeaters  of  the  best  military  or 
semi-military  type  are  simple,  strong,  durable, 
and  sure  to  function.  In  such  a  weapon  the  bolt 
can  be  slipped  out  in  a  second,  so  that  the  bar- 
rel can  be  inspected  and  cleaned  from  the  breech. 
The  entire  working  mechanism  can  be  taken  apart 
with  the  fingers,  or,  at  most,  with  a  single  screw- 
driver or  key.  There  are  but  few  parts,  and  all 
of  them  amply  strong.  Coiled  springs,  prac- 
tically unbreakable,  take  the  place  of  flat  springs 
that  always  are  treacherous. 

A  bolt  action  locks  with  two  lugs  immediately 
behind  the  cartridge  head,  and  there  is  a  third, 
or  even  a  fourth,  lug  in  the  rear.  Such  closure 
will  withstand  the  breech  pressure  of  any  cart- 
ridge. The  extractor  is  equal  to  any  strain. 
Since  the  extractor  engages  the  head  of  the  shell 
before  feeding  into  the  chamber,  a  refractory  cart- 
ridge can  be  ejected  instantly  instead  of  having 
to  be  pried  out.  A  bolt  action  works  better  than 
any  other  when  the  arm  has  become  foul  from 
grit,  as  is  bound  to  occur  at  times  in  sandy  coun- 
tries. Finally,  all  bolt  actions  of  recent  model 
have  flush  magazines,  easy  to  recharge,  and  the 
best  of  them  are  supplied  with  cut-offs. 

The  only  objection  urged  against  bolt  actions 
is  that  they  are  awkward  to  manipulate  and  slow 

64 


MECHANISMS  AND  MATERIALS 

in  repeating.  This  is  largely  a  matter  of  habit. 
A  man  shoots  best  with  the  action  he  is  used  to. 
Anyone  who  watches  soldiers  in  their  skirmish 
runs  and  rapid  fire  practice  can  see  that  the  com- 
mon military  bolt  can  be  worked  fast  enough  for 
almost  any  emergency  that  may  happen  in  hunt- 
ing. For  the  extremely  rapid  work  sometimes 
needed  in  the  close  quarters  of  thicket  or  jungle 
shooting,  where  a  rifle  is  not  aimed  but  pointed, 
as  one  would  point  a  shotgun  or  a  revolver,  a  self- 
loader  ranks  first,  with  the  straight-pull  bolt  a 
close  second,  the  lever  action  third,  and  the  bolt  of 
four  motions  a  lagging  fourth.  Here,  however, 
we  should  consider  that  a  quick  first  shot  of  great 
smashing  power  is  generally  worth  more  than 
three  or  four  hits  rained  with  ammunition  of  low 
or  medium  power;  that  very  quick  repeating  is 
almost  never  done  with  any  but  weak  ammunition ; 
and  that  the  bolt  action  handles  powerful  charges 
better  than  any  other  repeater. 

In  my  opinion,  the  only  speed  of  fire,  with  rifles 
that  is  worth  considering  is  speed  of  aimed  fire. 
No  kind  of  gun  can  deliver  a  second  shot  accur- 
ately until  both  it  and  its  user  have  recovered 
equilibrium.  The  time  required  to  catch  fresh 
aim  will  depend  upon  how  hard  the  gun  recoils. 
With  weak  ammunition  that  gives  practically  no 

65 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

recoil,  the  only  disturbance  to  be  corrected  is 
that  caused  by  operating  the  gun's  mechanism. 
When  powerful  charges  are  used  in  aimed  fire, 
the  straight-pull  bolt  is  quickest,  and  between  the 
lever  and  the  turn-down  bolt  there  is  little  diff- 
erence. 

This  brings  us  naturally  to  the  topic  of  self- 
loading  arms.  It  is  claimed  that  they  "  absorb  " 
much  of  the  recoil.  With  present-day  patterns 
I  do  not  find  it  so.  The  shock  is  more  of  a  push 
than  a  kick,  but  it  disturbs  aim  just  as  much, 
with  cartridge  of  given  power.  So  long  as  a  self- 
loader  is  used  only  with  weak  ammunition  it  can 
be  fired  a  little  faster,  with  good  aim,  than  any 
other  mechanism;  but  it  is  not  yet  made  to  handle 
really  first-class  ammunition  for  big  game  or 
military  purposes.  I  do  not  regard  the  extra 
quickness  of  the  self-loader  as  of  so  much  value 
as  another  merit  that  seldom  is  considered, 
namely:  its  noiselessness  in  recharging.  If 
one's  first  shot  misses,  the  animal  is  likely 
to  pause  for  an  instant,  listening  and  scent- 
ing to  get  the  direction  of  danger.  Then 
the  clank — clank  of  a  hand-operated  arm  tells 
just  what  the  beast  wants  to  know:  whereupon  it 
is  off  on  the  jump,  and  you  have  lost  the  chance 
of  a  standing  shot. 

66 


MECHANISMS  AND  MATERIALS 

The  objections  that  have  been  made  against 
lever  and  trombone  actions  apply  with  yet  greater 
force  to  self-loaders  as  we  know  them  to-day. 
Glancing  backward  over  the  history  of  firearms, 
one  will  observe  that  from  muzzle-loaders  to 
breech-loaders,  from  single-shot  arms  to  maga- 
zine guns,  from  hand-operated  repeaters  to  our 
so-called  automatics,  every  gain  in  rapidity  of 
fire  has  been  made,  at  first,  by  sacrificing  the 
more  essential  merits  of  simplicity,  reliability,  and 
power. 

Our  self-loading  rifles  just  now  are  in  this  ex- 
perimental stage.  They  are  good  enough  for 
light  work  in  the  neighborhood  of  settlements,  or 
as  auxiliaries  when  one  has  a  ship  or  a  caravan 
to  fall  back  on;  but  as  weapons  for  hard  service 
they  do  not  compare  with  a  first-class  bolt  action 
rifle  using  the  best  type  of  ammunition  for  big 
game.  None  the  less,  we  all  expect  the  "  auto- 
matic "  to  win  in  the  end ;  and  few  of  us  would 
be  surprised  to  learn  to-morrow  that  the  thing 
was  done. 

I  repeat  that  the  faults  of  lever  and  trombone 
actions,  self-loaders,  and  this  or  that  style  of 
magazine,  are  not  of  serious  consequence  so  long 
as  the  guns  are  used  with  ammunition  of  moderate 
power  and  in  regions  where  repairs  can  easily  be 

67 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

made.  Mechanically,  and  from  a  strictly  im- 
partial standpoint,  the  bolt  action  is  the  highest 
development  of  rifle  construction  at  the  time  of 
this  writing.  Lever  and  trombone  are  out-of- 
date  for  all  but  light  work,  and  auto-loaders  are 
ahead  of  the  times.  But  mechanical  perfection 
is  not  the  only  point  to  be  noted  in  a  general  re- 
view of  present-day  arms.  Most  of  our  people 
still  prefer  the  older  models,  partly  because  we 
are  used  to  them,  and  partly  because  they  hap- 
pen to  be  cheaper. 

Here  we  should  consider  that  the  rifle  trade  in 
America  is  on  a  different  basis  from  that  of  any 
other  manufacturing  country.  In  no  other 
civilized  nation  are  sporting  firearms  so  generally 
owned  and  used  by  all  classes  of  people.  Prob- 
ably nine  male  Americans  out  of  ten,  of  military 
age,  own  guns  of  one  sort  or  another.  New 
rifles,  shotguns,  and  revolvers  or  pistols,  are  sold 
by  the  myriad  every  year.  It  follows,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  course,  that  the  chief  demand  here  is  for 
"  a  cheap  gun  that  will  do  the  work."  And  it 
follows,  as  a  matter  of  business,  that  our  home 
gunmakers  turn  out  the  best  cheap  guns  in  the 
world.  They  also  make,  for  those  who  will  pay 
the  price,  as  good  shotguns  as  can  be  found  any- 
where, and  revolvers  that  are  simply  peerless. 

68 


MECHANISMS  AND  MATERIALS 

We  cannot  say  the  same  for  our  rifles.  The  de- 
mand for  really  first-class  rifles  has  not  yet 
reached  the  proportions  that  justify  large  ex- 
penditures to  produce  them.  It  is  growing  so 
rapidly,  however,  that  one  may  expect  decided  im- 
provements within  the  next  ten  years.  Among 
our  better  informed  sportsmen  it  already  is  in- 
sistent. Many  of  them  purchase  foreign  weapons. 
Others  take  our  excellent  Springfield-Mauser  to 
a  master  gunmaker  and  have  it  made  over  into  as 
fine  a  sporting  rifle  for  American  game  as  man 
could  reasonably  desire,  the  cost,  all  told,  being 
in  the  neighborhood  of  forty  or  fifty  dollars. 
They  consider  it  rather  absurd  to  put  up  with 
a  fifteen  or  twenty  dollar  rifle  to  hunt  moose  or 
bear  with,  when .  they  cheerfully  pay  fifty  for  a 
shotgun  to  hunt  quail  with.  And  certainly  they- 
get  their  money's  worth. 

Without  finding  fault  with  low-price  rifles  that 
"  do  the  work  "  remarkably  well,  let  us  consider 
the  points  of  a  thoroughly  well  made  rifle  which 
can  be  turned  out  at  a  higher,  but  still  reasonable, 
cost. 

First,  the  barrel,  which  is  by  all  odds,  the  most 
important  part  of  the  gun.  In  the  day  of  black 
gunpowder  our  best  rifle  barrels  were  made  from 
mild  steel  that  was  so  soft  it  could  fairly  be  cut 

69 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

with  a  knife.  Such  metal  was  so  easy  to  machine 
that  good  barrels  could  be  turned  out  very  rapidly 
and  with  little  hand  finishing;  hence  they  were 
cheap,  but  shot  as  accurately  as  any.  Smoke- 
less powder  required  stronger  material,  and 
j  acketed  bullets  required  harder  metal.  This  was 
supplied  by  the  commercial  nickle-steel  of  our 
day,  harder  to  work  than  the  soft  steel  it  replaced, 
but  still  capable  of  being  turned  out  in  much  the 
same  way.  Common  nickle-steel  will  do  for  cart- 
ridges of  the  "  medium  game  "  class  mentioned  in 
a  previous  chapter;  but  when  it  is  employed  with 
ammunition  of  the  "  big  game  "  or  military  class, 
there  is  trouble. 

The  trouble  comes  from  erosion  of  the  rifle 
bore.  It  has  been  assumed  by  riflemen  generally 
that  the  erosion  that  cuts  down  the  "  accuracy 
life  "  of  their  barrels  to  a  thousand  rounds  or  so 
is  caused  by  the  excessive  friction  of  jacketed  bul- 
lets, unlubricated,  driven  at  high  speed  through 
the  rifle  bore.  If  this  were  true,  the  wear  would 
be  fairly  uniform  throughout  the  bore,  or  might 
be  greatest  toward  the  muzzle,  where  the  bullet 
gets  its  highest  velocity.  Such  is  not  the  case. 
Erosion  always  is  greatest  immediately  in  front 
of  the  neck  of  the  chamber,  where  the  bullet  starts. 
Instead  of  being  uniform,  it  begins  with  slight  pits 

70 


MECHANISMS  AND  MATERIALS 

which  then  are  guttered  out  in  irregular  channels. 

The  gutters  slowly  deepen,  and  still  more  slowly 
creep  forward  up  the  bore.  By  the  time  they 
have  advanced  about  two  inches  beyond  the  neck 
of  the  chamber  they  have  deepened  so  much  that 
a  bullet  leaving  its  cartridge  shell  has  room  to 
tilt  before  taking  the  rifling,  and  is  deformed,  per- 
haps has  its  jacket  split,  before  entering  the  per- 
fect part  of  the  barrel.  This  damage  is  done  by 
the  gases  of  explosion  of  nitro  powder,  which  are 
so  hot  that  ordinary  steel  cannot  stand  the  tem- 
perature. At  first  a  little  of  this  gas  escapes 
around  the  bullet  before  it  has  gone  far  enough 
to  seal  the  bore,  and  so  the  pits  form.  As  the 
eroded  portion  extends,  more  gus  escapes  ahead, 
and  more  guttering  results. 

A  barrel  of  ordinary  nickle-steel  will  lose  a,c- 
curacy  quite  perceptibly  after  1,000  rounds  of 
the  5  03  U.  S.  ammunition  (220-grain  bullet),  or 
even  after  500  rounds,  if  the  barrel  happens  to 
be  a  little  above  caliber.  After,  say,  3,000 
rounds,  it  will  shoot  quite  wild,  notwithstanding 
that  the  forward  nine-tenths  of  the  bore  may  re- 
main virtually  intact.  Such  steel  is  strong 
enough  to  stand  the  breech  pressure,  and  perhaps 
hard  enough  to  resist  bullet  friction,  but  it  will 
not  stand  the  superheated  gases  of  explosion, 

71 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

The  remedy,  in  so  far  as  the  gun  is  concerned, 
is  two-fold.  First  a  special  compressed  steel 
should  be  used,  or  a  tungsten-steel,  or  other  alloy 
that  will  resist  the  combined  attack  of  friction 
and  great  heat.  Second,  the  barrel  should  be 
throated  so  that  the  bullet  fits  as  snugly  as  prac- 
ticable at  the  start,  and  no  other  fit  of  bullet 
should  be  shot  from  that  barrel.  Both  the 
superior  steel  and  the  extra  work  raise  the  price 
of  the  barrel,  but  the  accuracy  life  of  the  rifle  is 
greatly  lengthened. 

Many  rifle  barrels  are  soon  ruined  by  excessive 
scrubbing  with  chemicals  to  remove  metal  fouling. 
By  metal  fouling  is  meant  a  deposit  of  hard  metal 
from  the  bullet's  jacket,  which  sticks  with  great 
tenacity,  escapes  observation  for  a  time,  but 
rapidly  accumulates  until  the  rifle  shoots  wild. 
Here,  as  with  other  diseases,  prevention  is  better 
than  cure.  The  gunmaker's  part  is  extra  care  in 
finishing  the  interior  of  the  bore,  so  that  it  shall 
be  smoothly  polished  and  true  to  gauge.  It  is 
not  unlikely  that  a  better  material  for  the  bullet 
jacket  may  be  found  than  nickled  steel,  or  cupro- 
nickle-steel — perhaps  a  bronze  of  high  tensile 
strength  that  is  a  good  anti-friction  metal  as  well. 

Ordinary  lubricants  will  not  work,  because  they 
are  decomposed  (disintegrated  into  their  chemical 

72 


MECHANISMS  AND  MATERIALS 

elements)  by  the  great  heat  of  explosion.  Gra- 
phite alone  will  not  stick  to  the  bullet.  Any  in- 
equality of  action  in  a  lubricant  will  make  one 
bullet  fly  high  and  another  low.  Here  is  room 
for  useful  experiment.  But  in  any  case  the  barrel 
of  a  rifle  that  is  to  use  the  best  modern  ammuni- 
tion should  be  of  high  quality  and  carefully  gone 
over  by  an  expert  workman. 

The  bore  of  a  rifle  barrel  should  not  have  tight 
or  loose  places  in  it.  Either  it  should  be  a  true 
cylinder  or,  preferably,  it  should  have  a  slight  and 
even  taper  from  breech  to  muzzle — say  a  quarter 
of  a  thousandth  inch  greater  in  front  of  chamber 
than  at  muzzle,  in  a  .30  caliber.  It  can  be  tested 
by  carefully  pushing  a  well  fitting  lead  bullet 
through  the  bore  from  breech  to  muzzle  with  a 
steel  cleaning  rod. 

The  muzzle  is  a  rifle's  most  important  part,  and 
at  the  same  time  the  one  most  exposed  to  injury 
by  a  chance  blow  or  by  unskilful  use  of  the  clean- 
ing rod.  Examine  it  with  a  lens.  If  lands  and 
grooves  are  not  perfectly  cut  to  the  very  end,  or 
if  there  be  a  burr  of  metal  left  at  the  mouth,  or 
any  sign  of  wear,  reject  the  piece  at  once.  Any 
imperfection  here  will  allow  gas  to  escape  un- 
evenly around  the  base  of  the  emerging  bullet  and 
so  tilt  it  at  the  critical  moment  of  start. 

73 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

A  rifle  barrel  expands  a  good  deal  from  the 
heat  of  firing,  both  around  the  bore  and  length- 
wise. In  order  that  this  expansion  should  be 
even,  the  metal  should  be  distributed  symmetri- 
cally. There  is  no  merit  in  an  octagon  or  half- 
octagon  barrel;  rather  the  contrary.  The  best 
form  is  round  and  tapered  toward  the  muzzle. 

Every  barrel  ffips  or  springs  more  or  less  at 
each  discharge.  So  long  as  this  flip  is  uniform, 
it  may  be  allowed  for  in  adjusting  the  sights;  but 
grooves  cut  into  the  barrel  for  attaching  sights, 
or  other  parts,  affect  the  flip  in  a  way  that  is  det- 
rimental to  accuracy.  There  should  be  none. 
Some  sporting  rifles  have  a  slot  for  forearm  stuck 
almost  directly  under  the  rear  sight  slot.  Such 
a  barrel  can  be  sprung  with  the  two  hands. 

Some  fine  rifles  have  a  matted  rib  extending 
along  the  top  of  the  barrel  to  prevent  the  glare 
of  sunlight  from  spoiling  one's  aim  and  to  cut  off 
the  radiation  of  heat  waves  that  arises  from  rapid 
firing.  Such  a  rib,  milled  from  the  solid  barrel, 
interferes  with  uniform  expansion  and  contrac- 
tion of  the  barrel,  may  even  buckle  it  tem- 
porarily in  continued  firing,  and  the  bore 
departs  from  a  true  circle.  The  difference  prob- 
ably will  not  be  noticed  in  a  sporting  rifle,  but  no 
rib  should  be  tolerated  on  an  arm  for  match  sh<3ot- 

74 


MECHANISMS  AND  MATERIALS 

ing.  The  matting  is  likely  in  time  to  aggravate 
the  very  trouble  it  was  designed  to  cure,  for  when 
the  bluing  or  browning  wears  off,  as  it  will  do 
much  faster  than  from  a  smooth  surface,  the 
shooter's  eyes  will  be  annoyed  by  innumerable 
tiny  facets  of  light. 

All  friction  surfaces  of  a  rifle's  action  should 
be  polished  to  a  mirror-like  smoothness,  so  that 
there  shall  be  no  sticking,  grating,  or  clattering 
in  operating  it.  Bolts  should  be  casehardened, 
small  parts  finished  in  a  workmanlike  manner,  and 
bluing  should  be  put  on  to  stay.  If  economy 
must  be  practised,  let  it  be  in  non-essentials,  and 
not  in  the  barrel  that  shoots  or  the  mechanism 
that  controls  its  shooting. 


75 


CHAPTER  V, 

RIFLE  SIGHTS 

HITHERTO  we  have  been  studying  the 
rifle  and  its  ammunition  simply  as  engine 
and  power,  independent  of  the  man  behind 
the  gun.  Enter,  now,  the  man,  with  his  personal 
factor  to  be  considered. 

Cartridges,  gun  barrels,  and  breech  mechanisms 
treat  everybody  alike.  Not  so  the  sights,  trigger, 
and  stock,  which  give  one  control  over  his  weapon ; 
these  require  adjusting  to  the  individual,  because 
men  differ  in  eyesight,  coordination,  and  build. 

In  very  quick  work,  at  close  quarters,  a  rifle 
may  be  pointed  like  a  shotgun,  without  seeing  the 
sights  at  all.  This  kind  of  rifle  shooting  is  so 
rare  that  we  need  give  it  scarcely  a  thought.  The 
rifle,  properly,  is  an  arm  of  precision  and  must  be 
handled  as  such,  or  we  will  miss.  To  hit  a  small 
object  at  short  range,  or  a  large  one  at  long  range, 
it  is  essential  that  the  sights  be  exactly  aligned 
and  that  the  tip  of  the  front  sight  barely  touches, 

76 


RIFLE  SIGHTS 

or  does  not  quite  touch,  the  lower  edge  of  the  pre- 
cise spot  that  one  wants  to  hit. 

A  fine  fore  sight,  covered  by  a  hood,  such  as  is 
made  for  target  shooting,  is  not  fit  for  hunting. 
It  cannot  be  seen  distinctly  in  varying  light,  nor 
in  the  shade  of  forests.  A  hunter's  front  sight 
must  be  open,  strong,  and  firm,  and  its  tip  should 
be  of  some  white  or  colored  material  that  will  show 
up  plainly  against  a  neutral  or  murky  back- 
ground. 

The  plain  german-silver  front  sight  generally 
sent  out  with  a  cheap  rifle  does  not  suit  anybody's 
eyes.  It  is  sure  to  glitter  in  sunlight.  Take  a 
rifle  so  fitted,  stand  out  in  the  open,  swing  the 
gun  to  all  points  of  the  compass,  and  aim  at  var- 
ious objects  as  you  go.  Besides  the  annoying 
glimmer,  the  appearance  of  the  sight  will  vary  ac- 
cording to  the  direction  or  angle  at  which  light 
impinges  on  it.  One  side  will  show  up  clearer^ 
than  the  other,  and  you  cannot  well  help  aiming 
off  to  the  clear  side.  The  eye  strain,  too,  will  be 
excessive. 

A  black  front  sight  is  better,  in  good  light,  but 
it  cannot  be  made  out  distinctly  when  the  light  is 
poor.  A  tip  faced  with  platinum  shows  up  fairly 
well,  and  it  will  not  glitter  like  german  silver.  An 
ivory  bead  can  be  seen  still  more  clearly,  so  long 

77 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

as  it  is  new  and  white,  but  it  will  turn  yellow  from 
the  inevitable  oiling,  and  then  must  be  pared. 
One  or  two  parings,  and  it  is  done  for.  More- 
over, an  ivory  bead  is  brittle  and  easily  damaged. 
The  best  all-round  fore  sight  is  a  "gold"  (al- 
loy) bead.  This  shows  up  well,  over  snow  as  well 
as  in  dim  places,  yet  does  not  glitter  in  the  sun. 

Fore  sights  with  changeable  beads  are  generally 
too  frail  and  disconcerting  for  wilderness  work. 
An  exception  may  be  noted  in  favor  of  what  may 
be  called  a  day-and-night  sight.  This  consists 
of  an  ordinary  "  gold  "  bead  sight  to  the  base  of 
which  is  hinged  a,  steel  standard  bearing  a  large 
bead,  or  rather  a  small  disk,  faced  with  white  en- 
amel, which  may  be  thrown  up  so  that  the  white 
disk  covers  the  ordinary  bead.  Such  sights  are 
made  in  Europe  and  should  be  copied  or  improved 
here,  for  there  often  come  times  in  a  hunter's  ex- 
perience when  a  sight  that  can  be  seen  in  the  dusk 
would  be  appreciated.  Imagine  yourself  with  a 
bear  or  cougar  treed  at  nightfall.  If  a  luminous 
chemical  can  be  found  that  will  stand  the  weather, 
it  might  be  better  -still  for  a  facing. 

In  any  case,  a  bead  is  preferable  to  a  barley- 
corn, or  knife-edge,  or  plain  vertical  bar,  because, 
when  aiming  -over  an  open  rear  sight,  a  round 
bead  shows  more  clearly  just  how  much  front  sight 

78 


RIFLE  SIGHTS 

is  taken.  Size  of  bead  will  be  governed  somewhat 
by  length  of  rifle  barrel  and  by  local  conditions. 
For  general  hunting,  it  is  best  to  use  the  smallest 
bead  that  can  be  seen  distinctly. 

The  rear  sight  usually  attached  to  an  American 
rifle  of  over  .22  caliber,  unless  otherwise  ordered, 
has  two  radical  faults:  first,  its  high  wings  cut 
off  the  view,  not  only  below  the  thing  aimed  at, 
but  on  both  sides.  This  is  never  desirable,  and 
always  is  a  nuisance  when  shooting  at  moving 
game.  Second,  the  buckhorn  is  attached  to  a 
long,  flat  spring  that  runs  back  from  the  sight 
slot.  This  spring,  in  connection  with  steps  (that 
never  are  adjusted  for  any  range  in  particular), 
serves  clumsily  to  elevate  the  rear  sight — it  takes 
two  hands  to  operate  the  thing.  Thereby  the 
sight  is  brought  too  close  to  the  eye  for  clear 
definition. 

Any  open  rear  sight  will  blur,  more  or  less,  be- 
cause no  eye  can  focus  simultaneously  on  rear 
sight,  fore  sight,  and  mark  aimed  at.  The  closer 
it  is  to  the  eye,  the  more  it  will  blur.  Take  the 
buckhorn  out,  tie  it  on  the  barrel  three  or  four 
inches  forward,  and  note  the  improvement.  It 
is  true  that  this  shortens  the  sighting  radius,  but, 
of  the  two  evils,  blurred  vision  is  much  the  worse. 

A  plain  folding  leaf  sight,  set  directly  in  the 
79 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

rear  sight  slot,  is  in  better  position,  and  is  quicker 
to  reset,  than  a  buckhorn.  The  slot  should  be  at 
least  eleven  inches  ahead  of  the  trigger,  and  pre- 
ferably twelve.  The  reason  that  a  military  rear 
sight  is  only  seven  inches  ahead  of  trigger  is  that 
it  is  generally  used  with  the  peep  instead  of  the 
bar;  in  fact,  I  do  not  know  any  expert  military 
shot  who  ever  uses  the  bar,  unless  it  be  for  quick 
firing. 

The  best  of  open  rear  sights  is  a  plain,  flat 
bar,  with  perhaps  a  small  notch  marking  the  cen- 
ter, and  with  one  or  two  folding  leaves  for  longer 
ranges  than  "  point-blank."  The  bar  should  slant 
backward  and  have  its  top  edge  beveled, 
so  as  to  offer  a  clear,  clean  outline  in  all  lights. 
Its  corners  should  be  rounded,  to  prevent  catch- 
ing in  gun  case  or  other  obstacles.  The  leaves 
should  be  held  stiffly  upright  by  springs,  when  in 
use ;  otherwise  they  will  soon  wear  loose  and  can 
easily  be  jarred  forward. 

Whether  the  top  of  a  bar  sight  should  be  plain 
or  notched,  with  or  without  vertical  line,  and 
whether  a  notch  should  be  wide  or  narrow,  square, 
semi-circular,  V-shaped,  or  U-shaped,  are  matters 
of  personal  choice.  I  can  only  state  my  own  pre- 
ference and  the  reasons  for  it. 

To  my  eyes,  a  vertical  line  to  mark  the  center 
80 


RIFLE  SIGHTS 

is  unnecessary.  If  I  pay  any  attention  to  it  at 
all,  I  must  change  eye  focus  to  do  so,  and  this  dis- 
tracts me  from  my  proper  business  of  watching 
the  mark.  A  triangle  of  ivory  or  platinum  is 
worse,  because  it  blurs  with  the  bead  of  the  fore 
sight.  A  deep  notch  is  objectionable  for  hunting, 
because  if  I  draw  down  into  it  (military  "  half 
sight  ")  a  great  deal  of  the  light  is  cut  off.  In 
the  forest  we  need  all  the  light  we  can  get.  Draw- 
ing half  sight  has  this  serious  defect,  for  a  hunter, 
that  it  is  hard  to  do  in  quick  aiming  and  may  be 
impossible  in  dim  light.  Hence,  if  the  rifle  is  ad- 
justed for  half  sight,  one  is  prone  to  overshoot. 
I  consider  it  bad  practice  to  draw  fine,  medium, 
or  coarse  bead,  according  to  distance.  There  is 
too  much  guesswork  about  it.  With  a  high 
power  rifle,  you  are  almost  sure  to  overdo  the 
matter.  So,  on  all  accounts,  I  prefer  a  plain, 
level  bar,  with  small  nick  to  mark  the  center,  and 
I  always  aim  with  full  bead  showiijg  just  its  plain 
circle  above  the  bar.  When  firing  beyond  the 
range  for  which  bar  or  leaf  is  adjusted,  I  strive  to 
aim  as  many  inches  higher  as  the  drop  of  bullet 
requires.  For  instance,  with  a  rifle  using  our 
military  cartridge  and  bar  permanently  set  for 
a  "  point-blank  "  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards,  I 
carry  this  simple  rule  in  my  head: 

81 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

200  yards  =  3  inches  drop 
225  yards  =  5  inches  drop 
250  yards  —  8  inches  drop 

Up  to  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  yards  I 
make  no  allowance  at  all,  as  the  variation  does  not 
exceed  a  couple  of  inches  anywhere.  It  is  easier 
to  remember  "three,  five,  eight,"  and  aim  accord- 
ingly, than  to  cut  off  precisely  an  infinitesimal 
fraction  of  an  inch  at  the  muzzle  while  looking 
keenly  at  the  distant  mark. 

The  method  of  attaching  open  sights  to  a  rifle 
barrel  is  not  of  much  moment  with  low  power  arms. 
With  weapons  using  heavy  charges  that  quickly 
heat  the  barrel  to  a  sizzling  temperature,  it  is 
quite  another  matter.  The  cheapest  way  to 
mount  sights  is  in  tapered  slots  dovetailed  in  the 
barrel.  It  is  easy,  then,  to  align  the  sights  by 
tapping  them  over  to  right  or  left  until  a  proper 
group  is  made.  A  slot  weakens  the  barrel,  and 
impairs  its  accuracy,  if  the  barrel  be  thin  and 
the  charge  heavy. 

Sight  blocks  soldered  or  brazed  to  the  barrel 
are  liable  to  be  knocked  off  when  the  weapon  is 
hot  from  rapid  firing.  Smokeless  powder  makes 
the  barrel  expand  quickly,  while  the  block  remains 
cool,  and  this  strains  the  solder,  or  even,  tears  it 
apart. 


RIFLE  SIGHTS 


In  rifles  that  have  a  rib  on  top  of  the  barrel, 
milled  from  the  solid  metal,  it  is  customary  to 
dovetail  the  front  sight  slot  lengthwise  into 
muzzle  end  of  rib.  This  prevents  the  sight  from 
being  knocked  out  of  alignment.  The  objection 
is  that  individual  rifles  vary  so  that  no  standard 
position  for  the  slot  will  suit  them  all,  and  no 
provision  is  made  for  adjustment  sidewise. 

The  proper  way  to  attach  either  a  front  or  a 
rear  open  sight  to  a  high  power  rifle  is  by  a 
permanent  band  around  the  barrel,  with  movable 
sight  base  attached.  We  have  a  good  example 
in  the  service  arm  of  our  army  and  navy,  the 
Springfield-Mauser,  commonly  called  "  New 
Springfield."  The  front  sight  of  this  arm  is 
pinned  to  a  movable  stud  (D9  fig.  I/)  which  fits  in 
a  band  (A)  firmly  attached  to  the  barrel.  Since 


FIGUEE  17. 
83 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

no  two  rifles  are  exactly  alike,  each  weapon  is  tar- 
geted by  an  expert,  at  the  armory,  until  the  cor- 
rect position  of  its  own  front  sight  is  determined. 
A  hole  is  then  drilled  through  base  of  movable 
stud  into  standing  part  of  sight  band,  and  a  screw 
(F)  is  inserted,  thus  securing  the  front  sight  im- 
movably in  its  place.  The  rear  sight  is  attached 
by  a  similar  band. 

A  peep  sight  on  tang,  frame,  or  cocking  piece 
gives  a  longer  sighting  radius  than  an  open  sight 
on  the  barrel,  with  proportionally  truer  aim.  The 
aperture  of  a  peep  sight  for  hunting  should  be 
considerably  larger  than  that  for  target  shoot- 
ing. One's  eye  will  center  such  a  peep-hole  in- 
stinctively, because  the  center  of  the  hole  gets 
more  light  than  its  edge.  He  will  scarcely  be  con- 
scious of  using  a  rear  sight  at  all. 

In  good  light  he  can  catch  true  aim  quicker  with 
such  a  peep  than  with  any  pattern  of  open  sight, 
because  there  is  no  blur  and  because  he  need  waste 
no  time  in  cutting  off  the  right  amount  of  bead. 
He  can  see  the  whole  object  aimed  at  and  a  con- 
siderable space  all  around  it.  A  distinct  advan- 
tage of  the  peep  over  a  plain  open  sight  is  that 
elevation  can  be  adjusted  to  any  range,  and  for 
any  cartridge,  with  exactitude.  One  can  set  his 
"  point-blank  "  to  suit  himself ;  he  can  use  various 

84 


RIFLE  SIGHTS 

charges  in  the  same  gun  without  guesswork  as  to 
elevations. 

An  aperture  of  any  kind  is  bothersome  in  the 
gray  of  dawn  or  twilight  and  in  the  murk  of  tall 
forests  when  the  sky  is  overcast.  To  provide  for 
shooting  on  such  occasions  (often  one's  best 
chance)  there  should  be  an  auxiliary  leaf  sight  on 
the  barrel.  Both  it  and  the  aperture  must  turn 
down  out  of  the  way  of  the  other,  for  the  two  can- 
not be  used  together  without  blurring  everything. 

For  target  shooting  and  for  hunting  small  game, 
the  best  position  for  a  peep  sight  is  on  the  tang. 
On  a  rifle  of  more  power,  a  tang  sight  is  not  suit- 
able, unless  the  arm  is  hammerless  and  its  bolt 
retreats  into  the  receiver,  in  which  case  a  short 
tang  sight  can  be  mounted  well  forward,  where  it 
is  not  in  the  way  of  eye  or  hand.  A  peep  is  at  its 
best  when  not  more  than  two  inches  from  the  eye. 

A  bolt  action  rifle  may  have  a  peep  sight  at- 
tached to  the  receiver.  This  position  is  objec- 
tionable because  it  puts  the  aperture  so  far  away 
that  it  is  hard  to  center  in  dim  light.  To  provide 
for  this,  there  should  also  be  a  turn-down  leaf  on 
the  barrel,  as  previously  described.  Unfortun- 
ately, nearly  all  patterns  of  receiver  sights  are 
made  with  the  peep  permanently  erect.  This 
should  be  remedied. 

85 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

Receiver  sights,  as  a  rule  are  slow  and  awkward 
to  reset  at  different  elevations  and  the  divisions 
are  too  coarse.  A  receiver  sight  that  clamps  in 
position  merely  by  a  lever  is  not  sure  to  "  stay 
put."  By  far  the  best  sight  of  this  class  is  the 
new  Lyman  for  the  Springfield-Mauser,  operat- 
ing by  a  milled-head  screw. 

A  peep  sight  attached  to  the  cocking  piece  has 
this  advantage,  that  it  draws  back  close  to  the 
eye,  where  it  should  be,  in  aiming,  yet  flies  for- 
ward out  of  the  way  before  the  gun  can  recoil.  I 
have  used  such  a  sight  on  a  bolt  action  rifle  with 
complete  satisfaction.  The  anticipated  variation 
from  wobbling  of  cocking  piece  did  not  occur. 

If  one  can  afford  it,  the  best  possible  combina- 
tion of  sights  for  open  country  is  a  "  gold  "  bead 
front,  permanent  open  rear  with  one  leaf,  and  a 
telescope  sight  of  the  best  modern  pattern,  the 
latter  detachable  in  a  moment,  and  ordinarily  car- 
ried like  a  spyglass  in  leather  scabbard  slung 
from  the  shoulder.  The  open  sights  would  be 
used  for  big  game  near  by ;  the  telescope  for  small 
game  and  for  all  long  shots,  running  or  standing. 

Beware,  however,  of  the  old-fashioned  telescope 
sight  with  long  tube  and  delicate  mountings,  per- 
manently attached  to  the  barrel.  It  is  not  a  prac- 
tical instrument — not  even  for  target  shooting. 


RIFLE  SIGHTS 

Its  field  (area  visible  through  'scope)  is  so  small 
that  one  must  grope  and  bob  around  to  find  his 
mark,  and  then  can  see  but  a  short  distance  around 
it.  If  the  object  moves,  he  loses  it. 

The  relief  (distance  from  eye  to  eyepiece)  is 
generally  so  short  on  such  telescopes  that  the  tube 
projects  backward  from  the  breech,  forming  a 
hook  to  catch  in  all  manner  of  obstacles  and  quite 
unsafe  to  use  on  a  rifle  of  much  recoil.  The  lenses 
are  easily  jarred  loose.  The  crosshairs  are  prone 
to  break,  or  to  separate  in  filaments  when  the 
weather  changes.  The  adjusting  screws  stick  out 
like  sore  thumbs,  ever  in  the  way  of  twigs  and 
trouble.  Such  a  'scope  is  a  delicate  thing  to 
carry,  even  to  a  rifle  range,  and  is  quite  unservice- 
able in  the  field. 

A  modern  telescope  sight  of  good  make  is  a 
short  instrument  (not  over  ten  inches  long,  and 
some  of  them  only  six  inches)  that  can  be  snapped 
on  the  rifle  in  a  few  seconds  and  detached  as 
readily.  It  is  sure  to  return  to  the  same  adjust- 
ment every  time.  Its  construction  throughout  is 
strong  enough  for  rifles  of  the  highest  power  and 
for  any  kind  of  service — forest  hunting,  saddle 
work,  or  mountaineering — in  short,  it  will  stand 
what  a  spyglass  will  stand,  and  is  as  easily  carried. 
Changes  of  elevation  are  made  by  a  milled  head 

87 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

operating  the  crosshairs,  while  the  tube  remains 
rigid.  The  mount  is  hollow,  so  that  the  open 
sights  can  be  used,  with  telescope  in  position  and 
without  mounting  the  'scope  awkwardly  on  the 
side.  The  tube  itself  does  not  project  back  of  the 
rifle's  breech,  but  has  a  soft  rubber  eye-cup  to  cut 
off  side  light.  It  has  a  wide  field  and  brilliant 
illumination,  is  adjustable  to  any  eyesight,  and 
corrects  defects  of  vision. 

It  is  a  grave  mistake  to  employ  a  high  power 
in  a  rifle  telescope.  Five  diameters  should  be  the 
limit,  for  hunting,  and  three  is  more  satisfactory 
all-round.  The  lower  the  power,  the  wider  will  be 
the  field  of  vision,  the  brighter  the  illumination, 
and  .the  less  one's  own  tremor  will  be  magnified, 
with  consequent  swaying  of  the  image.  A  three- 
power  'scope  makes  an  object  three  hundred  yards 
distant  appear  only  one  hundred  yards  away,  and 
that  is  good  enough.  The  field  of  a  good  prism 
telescope  of  three-power  is  seventeen  yards  at  one 
hundred  yards,  and  is  proportional  at  other  dis- 
tances. This  means  that,  in  aiming,  the  object 
is  magnified  to  three  times  its  apparent  height 
to  the  naked  eye,  and  that  the  shooter  can  see 
everything  within  seventeen  feet  of  it  at  one  hun- 
dred feet,  or  seventeen  yards  at  one  hundred  yards. 

An  open  sight  cuts  off  the  lower  half  of 
88 


RIFLE  SIGHTS 

field  entirely ;  the  telescope  shows  everything  below, 
as  well  as  above,  and  one  can  shift  elevation  at 
will,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  by  merely  aiming 
high  or  low.  It  is  an  advantage  to  have  stadia 
marks  in  the  scope  for  this  purpose.  I  once  had 
a  fifteen-inch  .22  rifle,  with  telescope  attached, 
that  had  dots  on  the  vertical  crosshair.  Using 
long-rifle  cartridges,  it  was  easy  to  do  very  fine 
shooting  at  surprising  distances.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  excessively  high  trajectory,  one  could  catch 
any  elevation  he  wanted.  With  this  tiny  gun,  a 
ten-year-old  boy  made  bull'seye  after  bull'seye  at 
two  hundred  yards  the  first  time  he  tried  it,  firing 
from  muzzle-and-elbow  rest,  on  a  still  day. 

The  extremely  compact  telescope  sight  now  is- 
sued to  expert  riflemen  in  our  army  and  national 
guard  serves  as  a  rough  but  practical  range- 
finder.  When  it  was  first  brought  out,  a  rifle 
equipped  with  it  was  tested  by  Captain  Casey  of 
the  American  team.  A  regular  one  thousand- 
yard  target,  with  thirty-six  inch  bull'seye,  had 
been  placed  so  far  away  that  the  bull  was  a  mere 
speck  to  the  naked  eye.  Casey  did  not  know  the 
distance  and  set  in  to  get  the  range  for  himself, 
by  firing  from  the  prone  position.  His  first  shot 
ricochetted  into  the  target,  scoring  3,  the  second 
was  a  4,  and  the  next  eighteen  bullets  struck  the 

89 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

bull'seye,  the  wildest  of  them  being  no  more  than 
eighteen  inches  from  dead  center.  The  distance 
was  then  found  to  be  one  mile.  The  more  one 
knows  of  rifle  shooting,  the  better  he  can  appre- 
ciate such  a  triumph  for  ammunition,  gun,  sight, 
and  man. 


90 


CHAPTER  VI 

TRIGGERS  AND  STOCKS CARE   OF  RIFLE 

COMMAND  of  the  trigger  is  the  hardest  and 
the  most  essential  part  of  marksmanship. 
Few  human  operations  require  one's  nerves 
to  be  so  finely  strung  and  his  muscles  so  instantly 
responsive,  in  the  face  of  immediate  concussion  and 
recoil.     And  the  slightest  blink  or  balk,  quiver  or 
flinch,  when  drawing  trigger,  will  cause  a  miss. 

The  worst  fault  of  cheap  rifles  is  their  rough 
and  exasperating  locks.  Every  man  who  is  am- 
bitious to  excell  with  the  rifle  would  gladly  pay 
extra  for  a  superior  lock,  if  he  could  get  it.  Rifle 
makers  offer  many  outside  "  extras  "  in  the  way 
of  plating,  engraving,  and  other  non-essentials,  up 
to  hundreds  of  dollars,  but  the  product  of  skill- 
ful handwork  that  buyers  would  most  appreciate 
is  a  first-class  trigger  mechanism. 

A  lock  made  of  inferior  steel  will  soon  wear  out 
of  adjustment.  Then  the  trigger  will  creep,  i.  e., 
will  start,  stick,  require  two  distinct  pressures, 

91 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

and  go  off  unexpectedly  at  last.  The  language 
of  anathema,  even  -as  perfected  by  Sterne  in  his 
Tristram  Shandy,  does  not  suffice  to  do  such  a 
mechanism  justice.  No  man  lives  who  can  shoot 
decently  with  a  creeping  trigger. 

In  a  rough  lock,  the  notch  into  which  the  sear 
engages  must  be  deep,  lest  the  metal  wear  off  or 
snap  off.  This  notch  is  toothed  upward  at  an 
angle,  so  that  the  sear  cannot  merely  slide  out 
but  must  lift  against  direct  pressure  of  the  main- 
spring. If  the  notch  is  deep,  the  trigger  cannot 
let  off  quick  and  sharp. 

When  shooting  offhand,  it  is  impossible  for  any- 
one to  hold  without  tremor.  The  best  a  man  can 
do  is  to  touch  off  just  as  his  front  sight  swings 
to  the  right  spot.  This  takes  the  utmost  nicety 
of  judgment  and  instantaneous  execution  of  it. 
An  error  of  a  fiftieth  of  a  second,  in  firing,  is  likely 
to  throw  the  shot  wild.  In  this  infinitesimal  in- 
terval, the  eye,  and  brain,  and  finger,  and  trigger, 
all  must  work  together. 

No  firing  mechanism  can  be  operated,  from  start 
to  finish,  in  a  fiftieth  of  a  second,  except  a  finely 
adjusted  set  trigger.  A  plain  trigger  requires 
that  preliminary  pressure  be  applied,  to  take  up 
all  but  the  last  few  ounces  of  strain  and  that  it 
be  steadily  held  there  until  the  critical  instant; 

92 


TRIGGERS  AND  STOCKS 

then  the  final  release  is  let  off  in  a  flash.  Whether 
the  pull  be  light  or  heavy,  it  positively  should  be 
smooth  in  take-up  and  instantly  responsive  to  the 
final  let-off. 

Set  triggers  are  of  three  types;  single,  split, 
and  double.  The  single  set  is  put  in  action  by 
pressing  it  forward  with  the  thumb.  It  is  not 
likely  to  wear  well.  The  split  trigger  (called  by 
the  maker  "  double  set ")  likewise  has  its  rear 
half  pushed  forward  to  set.  It  lasts  better,  but 
has  a  rather  annoying  backlash.  Both  of  these 
patterns  are  slow  to  operate.  Much  better  than 
either  is  the  old  reliable  double  set  of  our  earliest 
frontier  days  (now  trade-listed  as  "  schuetzen 
double  set,"  because  re-introduced  by  German- 
American  target  shooters).  This  consists  of  two 
triggers  spaced  well  apart,  as  in  a  double  gun. 
The  forward  trigger  is  set  by  drawing  the  rear  one 
back  to  a  click ;  hence  the  arm  can  be  set  and  fired 
very  quickly,  with  gun  to  shoulder.  A  well  made 
double  trigger  can  be  regulated  to  a  hair,  will  al- 
ways stay  so,  and  will  not  jar  off.  In  the  hands 
of  a  cool  man  who  is  used  to  it,  this  is  by  far  the 
best  mechanism  for  deliberate  offhand  shooting, 
both  at  targets  and  at  game  in  the  open.  As  a 
nail-driver  with  the  first  shot,  it  has  no  equal. 

A  set  trigger  is  unfit  for  quick  repeating.  Of 
93 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

course,  the  front  trigger  can  be  used  without  set- 
ting, but  the  difference  between  the  one-ounce  set 
pull  that  one  has  grown  accustomed  to  and  the 
seven-pound  unset  pull  that  he  may  want  to  use  in 
an  emergency  will  balk  anybody.  I  have  been  used 
to  the  set  trigger  for  twenty  years  and  to  plain 
triggers  for  twice  that  span,  yet  I  cannot  change 
from  one  to  the  other  without  a  little  practice, 
nor  do  I  know  anybody  else  who  can. 

In  fine,  a  set  trigger  is  admirable  for  hunting 
small  game,  and  for  stalking  on  the  plains  or  amid 
thinly  forested  mountains.  It  is  an  advantage 
when  one  uses  a  telescope  sight.  Yet  for  average 
hunting  in  forest  and  thicket  and  for  all  quick 
firing,  it  is  out  of  place.  One  must  choose  ac- 
cording to  the  work  he  is  to  do. 

At  the  other  extreme  is  the  old-fashioned  mili- 
tary pull  of  from  eight  to  twelve  pounds.  Very 
few  men  can  ever  be  trained  to  do  good  offhand 
work  with  such  a  pull;  nor  does  the  accomplish- 
ment, when  acquired,  stand  for  anything  meritor- 
ious—it is  against  nature.  The  modern  military 
pull  is  better.  It  has,  first,  a  dragging  take-up  of 
enough  finger-power  to  make  it  safe  among  massed 
troops,  then  a  comparatively  light  let-off.  It  will 
balk  a  recruit,  in  quick  firing,  until  he  gets  used 
to  it. 


TRIGGERS  AND  STOCKS 

The  best  all-round  trigger  for  a  sporting  rifle 
is  a  plain  one  of  from  two  to  three  pounds.  If  the 
lock  is  well  made,  there  is  no  valid  objection  to  a 
two-pound  pull,  and  most  men  will  do  better  shoot- 
ing with  it  than  with  a  heavier  one.  The  lock 
parts  should  be  of  hard  but  tough  steel,  ground 
and  polished  smooth,  and  then  adjusted  by  some- 
one who  is  more  of  a  watchmaker  than  a  black- 
smith. 

A  rifle  should  balance  about  four  inches  in  front 
of  the  trigger  guard.  Good  balance  makes  a  gun 
buoyant  and  quick  to  swing  into  position,  whereas 
an  ill-balanced  arm  causes  one  to  boggle  and  hunt 
for  his  sights.  A  well  proportioned  gun  is  less 
burdensome  to  carry  than  a  clumsy  one  that  may 
be  a  pound  or  two  lighter. 

No  rifle  using  modern  ammunition  need  have  a 
barrel  more  than  twenty-four  inches  long.  Ex- 
haustive tests  by  our  ordnance  department  have 
proven  that  the  muzzle  velocity  of  a  .30  Spring- 
field-Mauser with  a  twenty-four  inch  barrel  is 
but  eighty-seven  feet  a  second  less  than  that  of  a 
thirty-inch  barrel,  while  the  accuracy  of  the  short 
barrel  is  equal  to  that  of  the  long  one,  its  weight 
three-fourths  pound  less,  the  balance  better,  the 
arm  more  easily  manipulated,  and  its  total  length 
suitable  for  cavalry  as  well  as  infantry.  A  differ- 

95 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

ence  of  eighty-seven  feet  in  muzzle  velocity  does 
not  seriously  affect  the  weapon's  trajectory  with- 
in sporting  ranges.  It  is  more  than  compensated 
by  the  merits  gained.  On  the  other  hand,  twenty- 
four  inches  is  as  short  as  a  sporting  barrel  should 
be,  unless  for  special  service,  because  a  shorter 
barrel  is  hard  to  aim  truly  without  a  telescope. 

The  weight  of  a  high  power  rifle  should  be 
governed  chiefly  by  the  amount  of  free  recoil  set 
up  by  its  cartridge.  From  seven  and  one-half  to 
eight  pounds  is  enough  rifle  weight  for  such  a  cart- 
ridge as  the  .30  U.  S.  A.,  506,  which  gives  a  free 
recoil  of  fifteen  foot-pounds,  and  six  pounds  is 
plenty  for  a  .30-30  of  seven  pound  recoil.  How- 
ever, it  is  here  assumed  that  the  weight  is  where 
it  belongs — chiefly  in  action  and  breech  end  of 
barrel.  A  well  made  rifle  has  no  superfluous  wood 
or  metal  anywhere.  A  cheap  one  has  a  great  deal 
of  useless  steel  in  the  frame  and  elsewhere,  that 
could  be  milled  out  to  the  betterment  of  the  piece. 
I  also  assume  that  the  best  barrel  steel  is  used,  with 
no  slots  to  weaken  it,  and  that  the  piece  has  a  shot- 
gun butt  to  distribute  recoil. 

The  fit  of  a  rifle  stock  is  not  of  so  much  con- 
sequence in  firing  deliberately  with  light  charges, 
but  a  rifle  that  must  be  swung  smartly  into  posi- 
tion for  a  shot  on  the  jump  should  "  come  up  " 

96 


TRIGGERS  AND  STOCKS 

like  a  well  proportioned  shotgun.  The  stock  of  a 
sporting  rifle,  though,  should  be  a  little  shorter 
than  that  of  a  shotgun,  because  the  arm  is  some- 
times used  in  prone  position.  Moreover,  a  rifle- 
man's proper  poise,  when  shooting  offhand,  is  more 
erect  and  straight-necked  than  that  of  a  gunner; 
hence  the  rifle  stock  needs  more  crook  than  a  shot- 
gun's. (Compare  figures  in  Chapter  IX.) 

The  following  dimensions  for  rifle  stocks  are 
copied,  in  the  main,  from  the  writings  of  Mr.  E. 
C.  Grossman,  an  expert  whose  judgment  in  every- 
thing pertaining  to  rifled  firearms  deserves  close 
attention. — 

A  rifle  stock  for  a  man  of  average  build  should 
measure  about  thirteen  and  three-fourths  inches 
from  trigger  to  hollow  of  butt;  drop  from  line 
of  sight  to  comb,  one  and  seven-eighths  inches; 
drop  to  heel,  three  inches.  A  short  man,  or  one 
with  short  arm-reach,  needs  a  shorter  stock,  say 
thirteen  and  one-half  inches;  a  tall  or  long 
armed  man,  a  longer  one,  fourteen  or  fourteen 
and  one-fourth  inches.  A  short  neck  requires  a 
drop  of  one  and  three-fourths  inches  at  comb 
and  two  and  three-fourths  inches  at  heel;  long 
neck,  two,  and  three  and  one-fourth  inches,  re- 
spectively. 

If  the  stock  is  made  to  order,  a  cast-off  (stock 
97 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

bent  away  from  face)  of  one-fourth  inch  at  heel 
will  help  to  bring  the  eye  straight  in  line  with  the 
sights,  without  effort*  A  broad  chested,  full- 
faced  man  needs  more.  A  well-shaped  cheek 
piece  also  helps  one  to  align  quickly  and  naturally 
along  the  axis  of  the  barrel,  but  adds  weight  to 
the  gun. 

A  full  pistol  grip  aids  holding,  provided  it  be 
close  to  the  trigger  and  well  curved  (for  an  aver- 
age hand,  four  inches  from  trigger  to  front  of 
grip  cap).  A  grip  so  shaped  lessens  the  strain 
on  the  three  grasping  fingers  and  thereby  leaves 
the  trigger  finger  mobile  for  its  proper  work.  A 
grip  of  four  and  three-fourths  inches  circumfer- 
ence fits  a  medium  hand. 

The  conventional  American  rifle  butt,  slender, 
thin,  and  crescent  shaped  where  it  fits  the  arm, 
is  a  relic  of  the  eighteenth  century.  It  was  prop- 
erly designed  for  the  rifles  of  that  day,  which  had 
excessively  long  barrels  and  practically  no  re- 
coil; hence  were  shot  from  the  arm  instead  of 
from  the  shoulder.  It  is  quite  unsuitable  for 
present-day  weapons  that  use  heavy  charges  and 
must  often  be  handled  quickly.  A  shotgun  butt, 
slightly  hollowed  between  heel  and  toe,  comes 
promptly  to  the  aim,  does  not  catch  in  clothing, 
and  its  broad  plate  distributes  recoil  over  a  con- 

98 


TRIGGERS  AND  STOCKS 

siderable  area  of  the  shoulder.  A  butt  plate  of 
hard  rubber  is  too  brittle;  it  is  better  of  steel, 
checkered  to  prevent  slipping  when  the  shirt  or 
coat  is  wet. 

I  like  a  trap  in  the  plate,  opening  into  a  cham- 
ber within  the  butt  where  a  jointed  cleaning  rod 
is  kept,  together  with  a  spare  striker  or  firing 
pin,  spare  springs  (if  flat),  a  folding  screwdriver 
like  that  of  our  army,  and  a  bullet  jacket  extrac- 
tor. I  much  prefer  a  cleaning  rod,  even  if  many- 
jointed,  to  a  pull-through  thong.  The  latter  is 
a  poor  excuse  for  cleaning  and  is  liable  to  break, 
in  which  case  it  is  a  desperately  hard  thing  to 
get  rid  of.  Again,  if  a  shell  neck  or  a  bullet 
jacket  lodges  in  the  barrel,  the  rifle  is  put  out 
of  action  until  a  rod  can  be  found. 

Straight-grained  walnut  is  stronger  than  fig- 
ured wood.  See  that  the  grain  runs  lengthwise 
of  the  grip.  Italian  walnut  is  hardest  and  hand- 
somest, but  heavy.  English  walnut  is  next 
choice.  A  varnished  stock  is  garish  when  new 
and  shows  every  scratch  and  bruise  thereafter. 
The  most  tasteful  and  durable  finish  is  produced 
by  several  coats  of  linseed  oil,  each  thoroughly 
rubbed  in  by  hand. 

The  stock  of  a  good  rifle  is  improved  by  neat 
and  sharp  checkering  on  grip  and  forearm,  to 

99 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

keep  the  hands  from  slipping.  It  is  well,  also,  to 
checker  the  trigger,  safety  catch,  under  side  of 
bolt  head,  and  butt  plate.  All  other  metal  parts 
should  be  left  severely  plain,  the  blueing  being 
of  a  dull  finish.  Anything  that  glitters  on  a  rifle 
disturbs  aim  and  alarms  game  by  flashing  like  a 
heliograph.  Many  a  time,  the  first  notice  I  have 
had  that  another  hunter  was  in  the  field  came 
from  the  glitter  of  his  rifle  barrel. 

Plating  and  engraving  are  out  of  place  on  a 
weapon  that  is  not  meant  for  ballrooms  or  dress 
parade.  They  cheapen  and  vulgarize  it,  as  dia- 
monds do  a  street  costume.  The  beauty  of  a 
rifle  is  in  its  symmetry,  its  graceful  contours,  its 
easy  poise  in  the  owner's  hands,  its  evident  fit- 
ness for  stern  and  manlike  work.  Let  it  show  in 
every  line  and  on  every  surface  that  it  is  no  play- 
thing, but  a  weapon  of  precision. 

When  one  gets  a  good  rifle,  by  all  means  let 
him  take  thoughtful  care  of  it.  This  means  work 
at  times  when  one  is  least  inclined  for  it;  but  do 
it.  Never  leave  a  rifle  fouled  from  the  day's 
shooting.  A  few  nights'  neglect,  or  even  one, 
can  ruin  the  best  gun  a  man  ever  put  to  his 
shoulder. 

The  corrosive  residue  of  smokeless  powder  can- 
not be  removed  with  a  wet  rag,  like  that  of  black 

100 


TRIGGERS  AND  STOCKS 

powder.  The  black  carbon  fouling  that  you  see 
when  looking  through  the  barrel  may  be  swabbed 
out  with  a  dry  wiper,  but  that  is  not  what  does 
the  mischief.  There  is  left  a  sticky  residue  that 
you  cannot  see,  but  that  you  can  feel  adhering 
to  the  wiper  as  you  run  a  rod  through.  This 
has  an  acid  reaction  and  attacks  steel  virulently. 
Water  will  not  dissolve  it.  You  must  use  either 
a  nitro-solvent  oil  or  an  alkali,  preferably  the 
former. 

Get  a  yard  or  two  of  firm  cotton  flannel,  thick 
enough  so  that  the  tip  of  the  rod  will  not  push 
through  it  (a  stuck  rod  is  hard  to  remove). 
From  this  cloth  cut  square  wipers  of  such  size 
that  they  will  just  fit  snugly  but  can  be  pushed 
through  without  strain.  If  your  rifle  is  of  such 
model  that  it  can  be  cleaned  from  the  breech 
(every  rifle  should  be)  open  the  breech,  remove 
bolt,  if  there  is  one,  put  a  newspaper  on  the  floor, 
stand  the  rifle  on  it  with  muzzle  down,  and  keep 
it  so.  Shove  a  dry  wiper  through,  as  far  as  it 
will  go,  and  withdraw  it.  This  brings  out  the  car- 
bon fouling. 

Then  saturate  a  wiper  with  nitro-solvent  oil 
and  swab  the  bore  with  it  four  or  five  times.  Re- 
peat with  a  fresh  rag  wet  with  the  solution. 
Finally,  turn  the  rifle  up  and  clean  out  the  muzzle 

101 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

with  a  similarly  oiled  rag  on  the  end  of  a  sharpen- 
ed pine  stick,  and  the  chamber  with  the  same. 
In  this  way  there  is  no  chance  of  injuring  the 
muzzle,  which  is  the  most  delicate  part  of  a  gun. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  scrub  hard,  because  your 
object  is  not  to  remove  the  sticky  fouling  by 
friction  (it  can't  be  done,  not  even  with  a  wire 
brush),  but  to  "dope"  the  barrel  thoroughly 
with  the  solvent,  and  then  give  the  latter  time 
to  get  in  its  work. 

Set  the  gun  away  for  twenty-four  hours.  Then 
look  through  it.  You  may  be  surprised  to  see 
the  bore  evenly  coated  with  a  reddish  deposit  that 
looks  like  rust.  It  is  not  rust,  but  is  something 
that  soon  will  cause  rust  if  you  don't  remove  it. 
This  deposit  will  appear,  no  matter  how  much 
elbow-grease  you  may  have  used  on  the  barrel 
in  the  first  place.  When  a  gun  is  fired  with 
smokeless  powder,  the  gases  are  driven  into  the 
very  pores  or  texture  of  the  steel,  and  some  of 
their  acid  residue  is  lodged  there.  This  sub- 
stance will  "  sweat  out  "  gradually. 

Now  go  for  it,  with  the  nitro-solvent,  just  as 
you  did  before.  And  repeat  this  operation  the 
third  day,  even  the  fourth,  if  you  love  your  gun. 
When  a  dry  rag  will  come  out  perfectly  clean, 
you  may  be  satisfied  that  the  gun  is  "  surgically 

102 


TRIGGERS  AND  STOCKS 

clean " — the  microbes  of  rust  have  been  ex- 
terminated. 

Then  oil  the  bore  with  liquid  vaseline  (albolene, 
cosmoline  oil).  This  is  absolutely  neutral,  can- 
not gum  or  turn  rancid,  and  is  thick  enough  to 
stay  where  it  is  put.  A  thin  oil  is  not  the  thing 
for  a  gun  bore,  because  it  will  run  down  into  the 
chamber  and  leave  the  upper  bore  unprotected. 
If  the  rifle  is  to  be  put  away  for  a  long  time,  or 
if  you  live  at  the  seashore,  use  mercuric  ointment 
instead  of  oil ;  it  is  the  best  of  all  rust  preventers. 

You  can  make  a  good  nitro-solvent  cheaper 
than  you  can  buy  it  from  a  sporting  goods 
dealer.  This  is  Dr.  W.  G.  Hudson's  formula, 
and  a  good  one: 

Kerosene  oil  free  from  acid 2  fluid  ounces 

Sperm   oil 1  fluid  ounce 

Spirits  of  turpentine 1  fluid  ounce 

Acetone    1  fluid  ounce 

Your  druggist  can  test  the  kerosene  for  you, 
in  a  jiffy,  with  litmus  paper.  The  above  solvent 
is  a  good  rust-preventive. 

If  nitro-solvent  cannot  be  procured,  dissolve 
washing  soda  (not  baking  soda)  until  the  water 
will  take  up  no  more  (i.  e.,  a  saturated  solution). 
Use  this  just  as  you  would  the  solvent,  but  when 
through,  carefully  remove  all  trace  of  it  from 

103 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

the  bore  with  dry  rags,  or  the  soda  itself  will  set 
up  rust.     Then  oil. 

A  cleaning  rod  to  be  used  in  a  high  power  rifle 
is  best  made  of  steel,  because  grit  will  stick  to 
a  wooden  rod,  or  even  a  brass  one,  and  act  on  the 
bore  like  a  rat-tail  file.  Any  rod,  whether  wood 
or  metal,  will  injure  the  muzzle  in  a  surprisingly 
short  time,  if  the  wiping  is  done  from  the  muzzle 
and  in  an  unskilful  way.  The  proper  shape  for 
a  rod  head  is  shown  in  the  accompanying  cut, 
which  I  have  borrowed  from  Lieutenant  Whelen's 
Hints  to  Military  Riflemen. 


RIGHT  SHAPE  FOR  CLEANING  ROD. 

While  a  rifle  cannot  be  cleaned  thoroughly  with 
a  pull-through  or  field  wiper,  still,  such  treat- 
ment is  better  far  than  neglect.  A  common  cord 
or  thong  is  likely  to  break,  and  then  the  shooter 
is  "  hung  up  "  for  sure.  A  superior  field  cleaner, 
home  made,  was  recently  described  by  Mr.  R.  A. 
Kane : 

"  Get  about  three  feet  of  heavily  braided  brass 
picture  hanger's  wire,  drop  a  little  soft  solder 
on  each  end  to  keep  it  from  raveling,  then  with 
a  pointed  tool  like  a  carpenter's  awl,  separate  the 
strands  squarely  in  the  middle,  an  inch  from  one 

104 


TRIGGERS  AND  STOCKS 

end,  and  again  twice  more  at  intervals,  leaving 
an  inch  between  the  .openings.  Into  these  open- 
ings through  the  braided  wire  insert  oblong 
strips  of  cotton  flannel  thick  enough  to  fit  the 
bore  snugly. 

"  To  wipe  the  barrel,  thread  the  plain  end  of 
the  wire  through  from  the  muzzle  and,  as  it  ap- 
pears at  the  open  breech,  take  a  turn  around  the 
hand  and  draw  through  smartly  with  a  single  pull. 
This  excellent  pull-through  wiper  is  not  liable 
to  break  off  in  the  barrel  and,  when  coiled  up, 
may  be  carried  in  one's  vest  pocket.  The  wip- 
ing rags  should  be  passed  through  the  braided 
wire  at  right  angles  to  each  other." 

Always  wipe  out  the  oil  from  a  rifle  bore  before 
firing,  for  it  will  make  the  bullet  fly  wild.  For 
the  same  reason,  never  wet  or  oil  a  bullet. 

The  mechanism  of  a  rifle,  wherever  metal  parts 
rub  together,  should  be  kept  lightly  oiled  with  a 
good  thin  oil  like  "  3-in-l."  Too  much  oil  only 
serves  to  catch  dust  and  grit.  For  the  outside 
of  the  gun,  Lieutenant  Whelen  advises  that  a 
piece  of  buckskin  be  saturated  with  oil ;  "  once 
thoroughly  saturated,  it  will  last  a  lifetime,  and 
is  a  great  saver  of  oil."  Of  course,  the  gun  first 
must  be  wiped  thoroughly  dry.  The  stock  needs 
attention,  at  intervals,  lest  moisture  get  into  it 

105 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

and  swell  it.  Apply  a  coat  of  raw  linseed  oil, 
nothing  else,  and  polish  by  rubbing  with  the 
hand. 

To  remove  metal  fouling,  dope  the  barrel 
for  three  or  four  minutes  with  a  prep- 
aration sold  for  the  purpose,  or  with  strong- 
est ammonia,  cleaning  thoroughly  thereafter 
till  all  trace  of  the  alkali  has  vanished,  and 
being  especially  careful  to  get  none  of  the  liquid 
in  the  action,  for  it  is  sure  to  cause  rust. 

If  a  rifle  barrel  once  becomes  pitted  from  rust, 
throw  it  away  and  get  another.  To  try  to  re- 
move rust  with  flour  of  emery  or  pumice  would  ruin 
the  barrel  anyway.  Never  polish  any  part  that 
is  blued.  Do  not  put  your  rifle  away  with  a  cork 
or  oiled  rag  in  the  muzzle :  instead  of  keeping 
moisture  out  of  the  barrel  it  will  seal  up  the  mois- 
ture of  the  air  inside  the  tube,  and  rust  will  fol- 
low. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  the  neck  of  a  shell 
is  blown  up  into  the  barrel,  or  a  bullet  jacket  may 
lodge  there.  To  remove  either,  insert  a  bullet 
jacket  extractor,  such  as  is  issued  to  troops  in 
the  company  repair  kit,  and  tap  out  with  a  clean- 
ing rod ;  or,  upset  one  end  of  a  bit  of  copper  rod 
to  full  caliber  of  bore,  insert  small  end  down,  and 
tap  out  gently. 

106 


PART   II 
THE   SHOTGUN 


107 


CHAPTER  VII 

SHOT  PATTERNS  AND  PENETRATION 

IN  passing  from  rifles  to  shotguns,  we  en- 
counter a  quite  different  set  of  problems. 
Still,  the  two  arms  have  this  much  in  com- 
mon, that  all  depends  upon  what  we  want  to  do 
with  them.  Some  kinds  of  gunning  require  a 
wide  spread  of  shot  at  close  quarters ;  others,  a 
compact  swarm  at  a  considerable  distance,  Some 
game  can  be  killed  with  small  shot ;  other  game  re- 
quires large  pellets.  The  more  pellets  we  use, 
the  better  chance  of  hitting,  but  the  more  lead 
thrown,  the  heavier  our  gun  must  be.  Charge  of 
powder  and  shot  must  be  proportional  to  weight 
of  gun,  and  weight  governs  dimensions. 

Let  us  take  up  one  point  at  a  time,  keep  our 
minds  on  it  for  the  time  being,  and  not  be  over- 
hasty  about  drawing  conclusions.  In  the  end, 
we  shall  find  that  desirable  qualities  conflict, 
more  or  less,  and  that  compromises  between  them 
must  be  made,  lest  we  pick  out  a  freak  gun  that 
excells  in  some  one  merit  at  the  expense  of  others. 

109 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

The  power  of  a  shotgun  is  determined  by  its 
pattern  and  penetration.  Pattern  means  two 
things.— 

1.  The  percentage  of  shot  pellets  that  the  gun 
will  place  in  a  given  area,  at  a  given  distance, 
the  standard  being  a  thirty-inch  circle  at  forty 
yards ; 

2.  The  evenness  with  which  the  pellets  are  dis- 
tributed over  that  area. 

An  ideal  pattern  would  be  one  containing  every 
pellet  of  the  charge,  all  spaced  equidistant  from 
each  other.  But  no  gun  ever  shoots  that  way. 
Many  pellets  are  battered  out  of  shape  by  con- 
cussion, or  by  friction  against  the  bore.  Since 
these  offer  unequal  surfaces  to  the  air's  resis- 
tance, they  soon  swerve  like  a  flat  stone.  Others 
are  jostled  out  of  the  way  by  their  crowded  neigh- 
bors. 

The  pattern  that  a  charge  of  shot  will  make  de- 
pends very  much  upon  how  the  gun  barrel  is 
bored.  When  shot  are  fired  from  a  true  cylinder 
they  soon  scatter  widely,  so  that  only  thirty  per 
cent  to  thirty-five  per  cent  of  the  pellets  will 
strike  inside  a  thirty-inch  circle,  at  forty  yards. 
This  is  too  thin  a  pattern  for  any  but  the  shortest 
ranges ;  consequently  guns  are  not  bored  to  a  true 
cylinder  for  sporting  purposes.  What  are  called 

110 


PATTERNS  AND  PENETRATIONS 

"  plain  cylinders  "  by  the  trade  are  really  made 
with  a  slight  taper  toward  the  muzzle,  which  com- 
presses the  charge  enough  to  pattern,  on  the  aver- 
age, about  forty  per  cent.  Try  your  12-gauge 
"  cylinder  "  and  see  if  it  is  not  about  13-gauge 
at  the  muzzle. 

To  produce  still  closer  patterns,  the  gun  bore 
must  have  a  rather  abrupt  choke  (constriction) 
near  the  muzzle,  so  as  to  jam  the  shot  together 
at  the  instant  of  leaving  the  gun's  mouth.  The 
fuller  the  choke,  the  denser  the  pattern.  A 
quarter  choke  (sometimes  called  "improved  cylin- 
der ")  averages  about  fifty  per  cent  of  the  charge 
in  a  thirty-inch  circle,  at  forty  yards;  a  half  or 
"  modified  "  choke,  about  sixty  per  cent ;  a  full 
choke,  about  seventy  per  cent;  an  extreme  choke, 
from  seventy-five  to  eighty  per  cent.  These,  at 
least,  are  the  definitions  that  I  shall  follow.  Gun- 
makers  disagree  a  good  deal  among  themselves 
in  the  meaning  they  give  to  such  terms  as  cylin- 
der, open  bore,  modified  choke,  full  choke,  etc. 
It  would  be  better  to  discard  such  words  alto- 
gether and  describe  the  degree  of  constriction  by 
the  percentage  of  charge  that  the  gun  patterns  at 
forty  yards.  A  "  full  choked  "  gun  is  simply  one 
that  patterns  about  seventy  per  cent,  regardless 
of  its  gauge  and  other  dimensions.  It  may  take 

111 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

a  constriction  of  0.04  inch  to  full  choke  a  10- 
gauge,  and  only  0.02  inch  to  full  choke  a  20- 
gauge,  but  both  guns  will  throw  the  same  per- 
centage of  their  charges  (say  seventy  per  cent) 
into  a  thirty-inch  circle  at  forty  yards.  Length 
of  barrel  has  nothing  to  do  with  this. 

Spread  of  charge  depends  largely  upon  choke. 
A  full  choke  (seventy  per  cent)  gun  throws  the 
effective  part  of  its  charge  into  a  thirty-inch 
circle  at  forty  yards;  a  half  choke  into  a  thirty- 
six  inch  circle ;  a  quarter  choke  into  a  forty-two 
inch  circle ;  a  "  cylinder  "  into  a  forty-eight  inch 
circle.  This  is  true  of  all  gauges  alike,  notwith- 
standing what  you  may  have  been  told  to  the  con- 
trary. 

Different  chokes  are  adapted  to  different  pur- 
poses. It  is  with  shotguns  just  as  it  is  with  rifles. 
No  one  gun  can  excell  in  all  kinds  of  shooting. 
When  one  is  hunting  ruffed  grouse  in  the  wood- 
lands, the  game  springs  up  from  concealment  with 
a  whir-r-r,  and  it  must  be  downed  at  once,  or,  in 
a  second  or  so,  it  is  gone.  Such  shooting  de- 
mands a  wide  spread  of  shot  at  close  quarters, 
both  to  increase  the  chance  of  hitting  and  to  re- 
duce the  chance  of  mutilating.  In  trap  shoot- 
ing, on  the  other  hand,  and  in  wildfowling,  it  often 
is  necessary  to  hit  hard  at  a  considerable  distance, 

112 


PATTERNS  AND  PENETRATIONS 

and  this  requires  the  close  pattern  given  by  a  full 
choke. 

The  pattern  tables  commonly  published  in  gun 
catalogues  are  not  of  much  use  in  the  field.  They 
show  nothing  but  estimated  performances  of 
various  chokes,  with  all  sizes  of  shot,  at  the  one 
range  of  forty  yards.  Game  is  shot  at  all  dis- 
tances from  fifteen  to  fifty  yards,  or  upwards. 
One  should  know  what  his  gun  will  do  at  all  sport- 
ing ranges.  So  I  think  it  worth  while  to  print 
here  the  average  patterns  obtained  by  actual  fir- 
ing with  some  quarter  choke,  half  choke,  and  full 
choke  12-gauge  barrels,  at  five-yard  intervals, 
from  twenty-five  to  fifty  yards,  and  with  three 
different  charges — standard  duck,  trap,  and  up- 
land loads.  The  figures  show  the  number  of  pel- 
lets within  a  thirty-inch  circle  at  each  range. 
At  twenty  yards,  all  of  these  chokes  place  the 
full  charge  inside  a  circle  of  that  size. 

12 -GAUGE    PATTERNS    OF 

DUCK  LOAD, 

3^  drams  bulk  smokeless,  1^  oz.  No.  6  chilled  shot 
(279  pellets). 


Quarter  Choke 

Half  Choke, 

Full  Choke, 

Range 

nominal  50% 

nominal  60% 

nominal  70% 

in  yards, 

at  40  yds. 

at  40  yds. 

at  40  yds. 

25 

234=84% 

251=90% 

265=95% 

30 

201=72% 

229=82% 

246=88% 

35 

173=62% 

198=71% 

223=80% 

40 

142=51% 

170=61% 

198=71% 

45 

106=38% 

140=50% 

167=60% 

50 

84=30% 

106=38% 

145=52% 

113 

SPORTING   FIREARMS 

12-GAUGE   PATTERNS    OF 

TRAP  LOAD, 


y%  drams  bulk  smokeless,   1^  oz.  No.  1V2  chilled 

shot  (431  pellets). 

Range. 

Quarter  Choke 

Half  Choke. 

Full  Choke. 

25 

362=84% 

389=90% 

410=95% 

30 

315=73% 

358=83% 

384=89% 

35 

267=62% 

306=70% 

345=80% 

40 

216=50% 

263=61% 

303=70% 

45 

155=36% 

212=49% 

246=57% 

50 

114=27% 

151=35% 

211=49% 

12-GAUGE   PATTERNS    OF 

UPLAND  LOAD, 

3  drams  bulk  smokeless,  1%  oz.  No.  8  chilled  shot 
(460  pellets). 


Range. 
25 
30 
35 
40 
45 
50 

Quarter  Choke 
386=84% 
336=73% 
281=61% 
225=49% 
161=35% 
110=24% 

Half  Choke. 
414=90% 
382=83% 
322=70% 
271=60% 
216=47% 
147=32% 

Full  Choke. 
437=95% 
409=89% 
363=80% 
318=69% 
258=56% 
212=46% 

Bear  in  mind  that  these  figures  are  averages. 
Any  gun  will  vary  ten  per  cent  between  shots, 
and  sometimes  a  good  deal  more,  but  the  tables 
show  what  may  fairly  be  expected  in  the  long  run. 
Other  gauges,  of  same  chokes,  will  make  similar 
percentages  at  the  various  distances,  with  shot 


PATTERNS  AND  PENETRATIONS 

adapted  to  them.  It  will  be  observed  that  the 
smaller  sizes  of  shot  show  a  falling  off,  in  pattern, 
at  the  longer  ranges.  This  is  because  they  lose 
momentum  faster,  and  hence  the  pellets  stagger 
and  fly  wild. 

It  is  commonly  agreed  that  on  the  average  a 
bird  must  be  hit  by  at  least  three  shot,  of  suit- 
able size,  to  ensure  killing.  We  may  say,  then, 
that  killing  patterns  for  birds  require  not  less 
than  the  following  number  of  pellets  within  a 
thirty-inch  circle,  at  maximum  range: 


Snipe,    etc  .........................  350  No.  9s  or 

Quail  ...........  .  .................  235  No.  8^s  or  8s. 

Large  grouse,  or  small  ducks  ........  165  No.  7s  or  6s. 

Large  ducks  .......................  120  No.  6s  or  5s. 

Geese  or  turkeys  ...................  60  No.  3s  or  larger. 

Bearing  these  ^figures  in  mind  and  glancing 
back,  now,  at  our  tables,  we  can  figure  pretty 
closely  the  maximum  effective  ranges  of  various 
chokes,  in  12-gauge  guns,  with  upland  loads  and 
duck  loads.  Other  gauges  will  be  considered 
later. 

Of  course,  killing  pattern  depends  not  only 
upon  choke  but  upon  gauge  of  gun,  since  the 
larger  the  gauge,  the  more  pellets  it  will  handle. 
But  let  us  consider  one  point  at  a  time,  lest  our 
minds  wander  and  we  confuse  ourselves.  Some 
guns  make  dense  patterns  and  yet  bunch  the  pel- 

115 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

lets  irregularly,  leaving  considerable  spaces  un- 
touched. This  fault  may  be  due  to  excessive 
choke.  At  present  there  are  few,  if  any,  makers, 
who  will  guarantee  even  patterns  of  more  than 
seventy  per  cent  average.  Any  choke  in  excess 
of  this  is  likely  to  make  patchy  patterns.  Again, 
an  extreme  choke  is  prone  to  lead  at  the  muzzle. 
As  soon  as  lead  begins  to  stick  to  the  bore,  the 
shot  go  to  flying  wilder  and  wilder.  Hence  the 
merit  or  demerit  of  a  closely  choked  gun  is  not 
learned  by  firing  a  few  shots  at  sheets  of  paper, 
but  by  testing  it  after  a  hundred  rounds  have 
been  fired  rapidly,  as  in  trap  shooting. 

Gunmakers  can  easily  bore  barrels  that  will  aver- 
age seventy-five  per  cent  for  five  test  shots,  yet  it  is 
only  once  in  a  blue  moon  that  we  find  an  arm 
that  will  keep  this  up  in  an  all-day  shoot,  with- 
out frequent  doctoring.  Quite  recently  the 
eighty  per  cent  gun  has  been  announced.  I  feel 
like  predicting  that  steady  averages  of  over 
seventy  per  cent  will  not  be  attained  by  peculiar 
boring  of  the  muzzle,  but  by  improved  ammuni- 
tion and  better  chambering. 

The  shape  of  the  cone,  directly  in  front  of 
the  cartridge  chamber,  affects  pattern,  and  so 
does  the  fit  of  shell.  When  the  crimp  is  blown 
out  of  a  paper  shell,  it  must  fit  the  cone  smoothly 

116 


PATTERNS  AND  PENETRATIONS 

and  fill  it,  or  there  will  be  a  jump  and  tilting  of 
the  wad.  If  the  shell  be  too  short  for  the  cham- 
ber, or  the  cone  too  long,  gas  will  escape  ahead 
of  the  shot  and  will  scatter  the  charge. 

Cheap  guns  of  full  choke  are  likely  to  give 
patchy  patterns,  because  they  have  not  been  re- 
touched by  the  gun-maker  after  testing.  If  one 
must  put  up  with  a  cheap  gun,  it  is  wise  for 
him  to  select  a  half  choke  (I  am  speaking  of  12- 
gauges),  because  what  it  lacks  in  closeness  of 
pattern  will  be  more  than  made  up  in  evenness 
and  uniformity  of  shooting. 

A  dirty,  or  leaded,  or  rusted  bore  is  sure  to 
sprinkle  its  charge;  it  may  even  ball  some  of  the 
shot — weld  them  together  into  an  irregular  mass 
that  will  fly  anywhere  except  where  it  is  wanted. 
Balled  shot  account  for  many  distressing  acci- 
dents, where  men  have  been  injured  at  extraor- 
dinary distances,  or  when  standing  far  out  of  the 
line  of  fire.  They  also  explain  how  Epiphalet 
Snooks  killed  an  eagle  at  one  hundred  and  five 
measured  yards,  with  number  six  shot,  from  gran- 
dad's muzzle-loader.  He  might  have  done  the  same 
thing  with  both  eyes  shut  and  while  flinching  out 
of  his  skin.  And  yet  Epiphalet  will  brag  about 
that  gun  to  the  end  of  his  days  and  wilt  have  sev- 
eral fights  for  its  dear  sake. 

117 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

Balling  of  shot  may  be  caused  by  bad  ammuni- 
tion, or  by  a  charge  that  does  not  fit  the  gun  in 
hand.  Too  much  powder,  or  wads  that  are  not 
thick  and  springy  enough  have  a  like  effect  in  a 
choke  bore,  whereas  such  a  load  would  batter  the 
shot  and  sprinkle  it  from  a  cylinder  bore. 

Some  guns  string  out  their  shot  in  a  thin  pro- 
cession, part  of  the  pellets  lagging  as  much  as 
ten  or  fifteen  feet  in  the  rear.  In  such  case  the 
pattern  might  look  all  right  on  the  target,  but 
a  fast  flying  bird  could  plunge  through  the  charge 
and  escape.  Cylinder  bores  are  prone  to  string 
their  shot,  or  to  make  widely  varying  groups. 

If  the  shot  are  too  soft,  or  not  spherical,  or  of 
mixed  sizes,  they  will  string  and  scatter  badly, 
no  matter  what  kind  of  gun  they  may  be  fired 
from. 

It  is  more  important  that  a  gun  should  pepper 
the  target  evenly  and  that  it  should  behave  well 
all  day,  regardless  of  how  hot  and  dry  the  air 
may  be,  than  that  it  should  make  very  close  pat- 
terns when  tested  for  a  few  rounds  under  favorable 
conditions. 

Effective  range  depends  not  only  upon  how 
many  shot  hit  the  object,  but  also  upon  their  pene- 
tration and  the  shock  they  impart.  The  killing 
power  of  a  pellet  of  shot  is  much  easier  to  deter- 

118 


PATTERNS  AND  PENETRATIONS 

mine  than  that  of  a  rifle  bullet,  since  shot  are 
spherical.  If  shot  of  all  sizes  are  fired  with  the 
same  muzzle  velocity,  then  the  bigger  the  shot 
the  better  it  will  maintain  speed,  the  far- 
ther it  will  range,  the  harder  it  will  hit,  and 
the  deeper  it  will  penetrate.  Size  of  gun 
bore  has  nothing  to  do  with  this.  A  28-gauge  will 
drive  any  size  of  shot  (if  it  chambers  properly) 
as  hard  as  an  8-gauge,  and  no  harder,  provided 
the  powder  charges  give  both  loads  the  same 
muzzle  velocity.  Penetration  depends  simply  up- 
on speed  and  weight  and  hardness  of  pellet.  A 
20-gauge  may  drive  its  shot  a  little  faster  than  a 
12-gauge  because  it  uses  relatively  more  powder; 
or  because  the  12-gauge  may  be  squib-loaded  and 
hence  cannot  burn  its  powder  properly;  but  size 
of  bore  is  not  the  determining  factor.  Both  guns 
can  be  standardized  to  the  same  initial  velocity — 
it  is  all  a  matter  of  loading. 

With  the  favorite  powder  charges  of  to-day, 
regardless  of  gauge,  the  maximum  killing  ranges 
of  various  sizes  of  shot,  on  pigeons,  are  about  as 
follows : 

No.  6 55  yards.  No.  8% 40  yards. 

No.  7 50  yards.  No.  9 35  yards. 

No.  8. ....  .45  yards.  No.  10 30  yards. 

On  small  ducks,  with  standard  duck  charges, 
119 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

number  6  shot  have  killing  penetration  up  to  fifty 
yards,  and  number  5  up  to  fifty-five  yards,  but 
five  or  ten  yards  less  on  large,  full-plumaged 
ducks.  In  heavy  guns  using  stiff  charges,  num- 
ber 1  or  B  shot  do  steady  execution  on  geese  at 
fifty  to  sixty  yards,  and  BB  or  BBB  shot  at  sixty 
to  seventy  yards,  while  4s  or  3s  will  do  the  same 
on  ducks. 

Always  use  chilled  shot.  There  are  men  who 
prefer  soft  ones  because  such  pellets  flatten  more 
on  game  and  make  large  wounds,  when  fired  at 
short  range.  But  soft  shot  lose  much  more  in 
pattern  and  penetration  than  they  gain  in  shock- 
ing power.  They  are  easily  deformed  in  the  gun 
barrel,  especially  by  choke  bores — then  they  lag 
in  the  rear  and  fly  wild.  Moreover,  they  are  more 
prone  to  ball  and  to  lead  a  gun  than  hard  shot. 

The  only  objection  to  chilled  shot  is  that  they 
are  somewhat  lighter  than  soft  lead  pellets  of  the 
same  size  and  hence  lose  a  trifle  in  sustained 
velocity,  range,  and  penetration.  The  fault  could 
be  overcome  by  hardening  shot  with  mercury,  in- 
stead of  "  chilling  "  it,  but  the  difference  in  weight 
is  rather  trivial,  anyway. 

The  sizes,  weights,  and  names  of  shot,  accord- 
ing to  the  "  American  standard,"  are  shown  be- 
low: 

120 


10. 

9% 
9. 


PATTERNS  AND  PENETRATIONS 

SIZES  OF  SHOT. 


Name. 
Dust. 
No.  12. 
11. 

Trap. 

Trap. 

Sy2  Trap. 

8. 

7V2  Trap. 

7. 

6. 

5. 

4. 

3. 

2. 

1. 
B. 
BB. 
BBB. 
T. 
TT. 
F. 
FF. 


No.  to  the  oz. 

No.  to  the  oz. 

Diameter.  Chilled  Shot. 

Drop  Shot. 

.04  inch.     .... 

4565 

.05  "       2385 

2326 

.06  "       1380 

1346 

.065  "       1130 

1056 

.07  "        868 

848 

.075 

716 

688 

.08 

585 

568 

.085 

495 

472 

.09 

409 

399 

.095 

345 

338 

.10 

299 

291 

.11 

223 

218 

.12 

172 

168 

.13 

136 

132 

.14 

109 

106 

.15 

88 

86 

.16 

73 

71 

.17 

e 

59 

.18 

( 

50 

.19 

f 

42 

.20 

* 

36 

.21 

' 

31 

.22 

( 

27 

.23   ' 

24 

COMPRESSED  BUCKSHOT. 


4  C 
3  C 
2  C 
1  C 

0 

00 

000 


.24  inch 

.25  " 

.27  " 

.30  " 

.32  " 

.34  " 

.36  " 


341  balls  to  lb, 

299  " 

238  w 

175  " 

144  " 

122  "' 

103  " 


It  is  unfortunate  that  some  shot  manufacturers 
use  antiquated  standards  of  size  and  nomencla- 
ture, which  lead  to  confusion. 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

Buckshot  cannot  be  recommended  for  any 
sport;  they  cripple  more  deer  than  they  kill,  ex- 
cept at  very  close  quarters.  They  may  be  use- 
ful, however,  for  defensive  purposes.  For  choke 
bores,  they  should  be  selected  by  chambering  in 
the  muzzle.  Push  a  wad  down  into  the  closest 
part  of  the  choke,  and  observe  whether  a  layer 
of  the  shot  will  pass  it  without  jamming. 

If  a  shotgun  is  ever  used  on  large  game,  it 
should  be  only  with  solid  ball  and  at  close  quar- 
ters. The  ball  must  fit  properly  in  the  narrowest 
(tightest)  part  of  the  gun  bore.  The  actual 
calibers  of  true  cylinders  are  as  follows: 

10-gauge,  0.775  inches.         16  gauge,  0.662  inches. 
12-gauge,  0.729   inches.         20-gauge,  0.615   inches. 

Proper  sizes  of  round  ball  for  cylinder  bores, 
allowing  for  patch,  are: 

10-gauge,  0.760  inch,  630  grains. 

12-gauge,  0.714  inch,  540  grains. 

16-gauge,  0.647  inch,  390  grains. 

20-gauge,  0.600  inch,  300  grains. 

Chokes  amount  to  from  0.01  to  0.04  inch,  de- 
pending upon  caliber  and  upon  pattern  desired. 
To  allow  for  full  chokes,  our  factories  load  ball 
cartridges  with  undersized  bullets,  the  weights 
being  as  follows:  one  and  one-eighth  oz.  ball  for 

122 


PATTERNS  AND  PENETRATIONS 

10-gauge;  one  oz.  for  12-gauge;  seven-eighths  oz. 
for  16-gauge ;  five-eighths  oz.  for  20-gauge. 

Such  missiles  have  great  smashing  power,  at 
short  range,  and  will  carry  straight  enough  for 
deer  shooting  up  to  forty  yards.  At  one  hundred 
yards  they  will  generally  miss  a  stable  door,  and 
the  stable  itself  at  two  hundred  yards,  unless  E. 
Snooks  is  at  the  trigger. 


123 


CHAPTER  VIII 

GAUGES  AND  WEIGHTS 

THE  killing  pattern  of  a  shotgun  depends 
not    only    upon    choke    but    upon    gauge. 
For  example,  if  we  take  a  12,  a  16,  a  20, 
and  a  28-gauge,  all  of  them  full  choked  (seventy 
per  cent),  and  load  each  with  its  standard  charge 
of  number  8  shot,  they  will  pattern  as  follows : 

12-gauge  uses  iy%  oz.=460  pellets,  and  patterns  70%=322. 
16-gauge  uses  1  oz.=409  pellets,  and  patterns  70%= 286. 
20-gauge  uses  j£  oz.=358  pellets,  and  patterns  70%=251. 
28-gauge  uses  y^  oz.=307  pellets,  and  patterns  70%=215. 

Each  gun  throws  seventy  per  cent  of  its  charge 
into  a  thirty-inch  circle,  at  forty  yards,  but  the 
12-gauge  plants  nine  shot  where  the  16-gauge 
places  eight,  the  20-gauge  seven,  and  the  28- 
gauge  six.  The  bigger  the  bore,  the  more  pellets 
it  will  handle,  of  a  given  size,  and  the  denser  will 
be  its  pattern,  if  chokes  are  the  same. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  we  load  all  four  guns  with 
the  same  number  of  pellets,  but  still  give  each 
gauge  its  standard  weight  of  lead,  then,  the  bigger 
the  bore,  the  larger  pellets  it  will  handle,  and  the 
greater  will  be  its  effective  range. 

124 


GAUGES  AND  WEIGHTS 

We  can  simplify  the  discussion  of  gauges  by 
means  of  a  table  that  one's  eye  can  take  in  at  a 
glance.  I  give,  below,  average  forty-yard  pat- 
terns of  guns  of  all  gauges  from  eight  to  twenty- 
eight,  and  various  chokes,  with  standard  loads  of 
all  sizes  of  shot  from  BBs  to  9s,  omitting  such 
figures  as  are  of  no  practical  use.  Chilled  shot 
are  employed  in  all  cases,  except  Bs  and  BBs. 
(For  number  of  pellets  to  the  ounce,  see  previous 
chapter.)  The  charges  here  tabulated  are: 

2      ounces.     Heavy  8-gauge. 
iy2  ounces.     Heavy  10-gauge. 
\y^  ounces.     Heavy  12-gauge. 

\y%  ounces.  Medium  12-gauge.     Heavy  16-gauge. 

1       ounce.  Light     12-gauge.     Medium     16-gauge.     Heavy 
20-gauge. 

t/%  ounce.  Light  16-gauge.     Medium  20-gauge. 

y^  ounce.  Light  20-gauge.     Medium  28-gauge. 

AVERAGE  SHOT  PATTERNS, 
30-inch  circle,  40  yards. 
FULL   CHOKE  GUNS =70%. 


1% 

1% 

1% 

% 

% 

Shot 

2oz. 

OZi. 

oz. 

oz. 

1  oz. 

oz. 

oz. 

BB 

70 

50 

B 

83 

70 

52 

No.  1 

102 

76 

64 

57 

2 

123 

92 

77 

69 

62 

3 

153 

114 

97 

86 

76 

67 

4 

190 

143 

119 

107 

95 

83 

71 

5 

241 

181 

151 

135 

120 

106 

90 

6 

234 

195 

176 

156 

137 

117 

7 

314 

262 

235 

209 

183 

158 

ry2 

302 

272 

242 

211 

181 

8  ' 

358 

322 

286 

251 

215 

sy2 

390 

347 

303 

260 

9 

1 

j 

461 

410 

358 

307 

125 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 


HALF     CHOKE=60%. 


Shot. 

1%  oz. 

1%  oz. 

1  oz. 

%oz. 

%  oz. 

No.  5 

129 

116 

6 

167 

151 

134 

118 

7 

224 

202 

179 

157 

135 

7% 

259 

239 

207 

181 

155 

8 

307 

276 

245 

215 

184 

8% 

334 

297 

260 

223 

9 

395 

351 

307 

263 

QUARTER  CHOKE=50%. 


Shot. 

1%OZ. 

IVsOZ. 

1  oz. 

%  oz. 

No.  6 

140 

7 

187 

168 

7% 

216 

194 

174 

8 

256 

230 

205 

sy2 

279 

248 

217 

9 

329 

293 

256 

:  CYLINDER  "=40%. 


Shot. 

1%OZ. 

1%  oz. 

1  oz. 

7/8  OZ. 

No.  7 

150 

134 

7% 

172 

155 

138 

8 

204 

184 

164 

143 

8% 

223 

198 

173 

9 

263 

234 

204 

220 


176 

Referring  back,  now,  to  the  preceding  chapter, 
where  killing  patterns  for  various  birds  are  tabu- 
lated, the  reader  can  see  for  himself  what  gauges 
and  chokes  and  sizes  of  shot  are  effective  at  forty 
yards,  with  customary  charges  as  shown  above. 
Good  estimates  of  performances  at  other  ranges, 
from  twenty  to  fifty  yards,  may  be  made  by  com- 
paring the  work  of  12-gauges  (see  Chapter  VII), 
at  forty  yards,  with  those  of  other  gauges  shown 

126 


GAUGES  AND  WEIGHTS 

here,  and  making  proportional  allowances,  accord- 
ing to  charge  of  shot. 

We  see  at  once  that  size  of  shot  should  be  regu- 
lated to  gauge  of  gun,  as  well  as  to  size  of  game. 
With  standard  charges,  neither  a  20-gauge  nor  a 
16-gauge  will  pattern  close  enough  for  ducks, 
(at  forty  yards)  with  any  shot  larger  than  num- 
ber 6;  whereas  a  12-gauge  (full  choke,  of  course) 
will  handle  5s  effectively;  a  10-gauge,  4s;  an  8- 
gauge,  3s.  Similarly,  a  20-gauge  will  make  a 
forty  yard  goose  pattern  with  3s ;  a  16-gauge  with 
2s ;  a  12-gauge  with  Is ;  a  10-gauge  with  Bs ;  an 
8-gauge  with  BBBs.  Consequently,  if  other 
things  are  in  normal  proportion,  the  bigger  the 
bore,  the  farther  it  will  kill. 

Of  course,  a  small  bore  can  be  so  built  and 
so  loaded  as  to  handle  a  charge  that  is  "  stand- 
ard "  for  a  bigger  gauge ;  but  would  we  gain  or 
lose  by  it? 

The  narrower  the  bore,  the  longer  the  column 
of  shot  will  be,  with  a  given  charge.  This  means 
increased  friction  in  the  small  bore,  greater  tamp- 
ing of  the  powder  and  consequently  quicker  burn- 
ing, greater  breech  pressure,  and  a  more  violent 
recoil.  Moreover,  small  bores  generally  are 
loaded  with  finer  shot  than  large  bores,  when  used 
for  the  same  purpose ;  and  the  finer  the  shot,  the 

127 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

harder  the  gun  will  kick.  All  experts,  I  believe, 
agree  that  small  bores  require  more  gun  weight  in 
proportion  to  shot  weight  than  large  bores  do. 
For  example,  a  12-gauge  using  two  and  three- 
fourths  drams  of  powder  and  an  ounce  of  shot 
need  not  weigh  over  six  and  one-fourth  pounds, 
but  a  16-gauge  charged  with  similar  load  should 
be  half  a  pound  heavier ;  and  a  20-gauge,  another 
half  pound.  Since  the  prime  merit  of  a  small 
bore  is  its  lightness  of  gun  and  of  ammunition, 
it  must  be  apparent  that  overcharging  such  a 
weapon  is  poor  policy. 

Hitherto  we  have  been  speaking  only  of 
shot  loads,  irrespective  of  powder.  Would  any- 
thing be  gained  by  using  light  loads  of  shot  and 
heavy  charges  of  powder? 

We  hear  a  good  deal,  nowadays,  about  small- 
bore "  express  "  shotguns — a  term  borrowed  from 
the  riflemen's  parlance  of  thirty  years  ago.  Any- 
one can  see  that  if  the  velocity  of  shot  can  be 
raised,  say,  two  hundred  feet  a  second,  without 
spoiling  the  pattern,  then  their  effective  range 
will  be  greater,  and  a  gunner  need  not  allow  so 
closely  for  "  lead  "  of  his  bird,  nor  for  drop  of 
shot  at  long  range. 

Of  course,  it  is  easy  to  increase  the  velocity  by 
using  more  powder,  but  the  trouble  is  here,  that 

128 


GAUGES  AND  WEIGHTS 

with  present  systems  of  gun  boring  and  present 
methods  of  cartridge  making,  any  considerable 
increase  above  standard  charge  of  powder  is 
likely  to  batter  the  shot,  lead  the  gun,  and  ruin 
the  pattern.  We  cannot  have  successful  high- 
velocity  shotguns  until  makers  of  guns  and  of  am* 
munition  consent  to  spend  a  good  deal  of  time 
and  money  on  something  new — and  this,  naturally, 
they  are  loath  to  do. 

Tentative  experiments  have  been  made,  with  en- 
couraging results.  It  is  claimed  that  a  seven  and 
one-half  pound  12-gauge  has  been  built  in  Eng- 
land that  brings  down  overhead  ducks  from  an 
altitude  of  fifty  to  sixty  yards.  Quite  recently, 
Mr.  Charles  Askins,  the  gun  expert,  has  secured 
an  American  eight  pound  16-gauge  in  which  he 
uses  three  and  one-fourth  drams  of  Schultz  and 
an  ounce  of  shot,  "  probably  the  highest- velocity 
load  eVer  regularly  shot  from  an  American  shot- 
gun." The  astonishing  thing  about  this  gun  and 
charge  is  that  they  make  an  even  pattern  of 
eighty  per  cent.  It  will  be  interesting  to  learn 
whether  this  sturdy  weapon  behaves  well  at  the 
fiftieth  or  hundredth  round. 

The  advantage  of  high  initial  velocity  is  greater 
with  large  shot  than  with  small  ones,  because  the 
latter  are  less  able  to  maintain  speed.  Extra 

129 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

powder  charge,  with  fine  shot,  is  wasted,  just  as  an 
athlete's  strength  would  be  wasted  in  trying  to 
throw  grains  of  sand  to  a  distance.  Still,  it  seems 
feasible  to  give  number  7  shot  a  somewhat  higher 
remaining  speed  at  duck  ranges  than  6s  have  with 
their  present  standard  charges  of  powder,  and 
number  9  shot  a  higher  remaining  speed  at  quail 
ranges  than  8s  now  have.  When  this  is  accom- 
plished, the  six  and  three-fourths  pound  20-gauge 
of  the  future  will  be  as  effective  with  seven-eighths 
ounce  of  shot  as  our  seven  and  one-half  pound  12- 
gauges  of  to-day  are  with  one  and  one-eight  ounce, 
as  regards  both  spread  and  density  of  pattern. 
Of  this,  more  anon. 

We  may  now  take  up  the  four  classes  of  shot- 
guns, seriatim,  namely :  upland,  wildf owling,  trap, 
and  all-round  guns. 

1.  Upland  Guns. — For  hunting  snipe,  plover, 
woodcock,  quail,  and  the  larger  grouse,  we  do  not 
need  very  powerful  arms,  but  light  weight  of  gun 
and  ammunition  are  essential.  When  a  man  has 
tramped  the  fields  from  morn  till  noon  with  a 
seven  and  one-half  pound  gun,  he  will  be  in  ready 
mood  to  swap  for  something  lighter.  Five  yards 
greater  killing  range  does  not  compensate  for  stiff 
muscles  and  the  lassitude  that  comes  from  over- 
exertion.  A  tired  man  is  too  slow. 

130 


GAUGES  AND  WEIGHTS 

There  is  an  opposite  extreme  to  be  avoided:  the 
feather-weight.  A  certain  weight  is  required  to 
steady  one's  swing.  Men  of  average  physique 
will  make  fewer  misses,  in  an  all-day  hunt  afield, 
with  a  gun  weighing  between  six  and  seven  pounds, 
than  they  will  make  with  either  a  heavier  or  a 
lighter  arm. 

Now,  what  power  is  needed  for  upland  shoot- 
ing? and  can  we  get  it  in  such  light  guns?  and 
what  kind  of  gun  will  give  us  the  most  power  with 
the  least  fatigue  in  handling  it? 

Nine-tenths  of  upland  game  is  killed  within 
thirty-five  yards.  Any  gun  that  will  make  the 
minimum  killing  pattern  at  forty  yards  (say  235 
number  8  shot  within  a  thirty-inch  circle)  has 
ample  power  for  the  purpose.  This  is  done  by  a 
quarter-choke  with  one  and  one-eighth  ounce  of 
shot,  by  a  half-choke  with  one  ounce,  and  by  a 
full  choke  with  seven-eighths  ounce,  regardless  of 
gauge.  So  much  for  long  range. 

But  we  also  must  have,  for  upland  work,  an 
open  pattern  at  short  range.  How  short  a  range? 
Not  fifteen  yards,  because,  at  that  distance,  a 
forty  per  cent  cylinder  bore  will  bunch  its  full 
charge  within  a  ten  or  twelve  inch  circle,  and 
blow  a  bird  to  pieces,  or  at  least  make  it  unfit  for 
table.  At  twenty  yards,  then?  Yes,  at  twenty 

131 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

yards  we  want  a  pattern  that  will  not  mangle. 
This  we  can  get  with  a  cylinder  bore  using  one 
and  one-eighth  ounce  of  shot,  with  a  quarter-choke 
using  one  ounce,  or  with  a  half-choke  using  seven- 
eighths  ounce. 

Hence  our  conditions  are  met  by  a  light  12- 
gauge  with  right  barrel  cylinder  bored  and  left 
barrel  quarter-choked;  also  by  a  16-gauge  of 
quarter  and  half-choke;  also  by  a  20-gauge  of 
half  and  full-choke. 

We  now  are  on  the  firing  line  of  what  has  sar- 
castically been  called  "  the  battle  of  the  bores." 
Let  us  compare  the  guns  last  named,  testing  them 
side  by  side,  for  spread  and  density  of  pattern, 
both  at  average  (twenty-five  yard)  and  extreme 
(forty  yard)  upland  ranges.  First  with  number 
8  shot.— 

PATTERNS  WITH  NUMBER  8  SHOT. 

25  yards. 


Charge  of 

Killing  Circle. 

Pattern. 

Gauge. 

No.  8  shot 

Right. 

Left. 

Right. 

Left. 

12 

1%  oz. 

30 

26 

368 

386 

16. 

1       oz. 

26 

22 

344 

368 

20. 

%  oz. 

22 

18 

322 

340 

40  yards. 

Charge  of 

Killing  Circle. 

Pattern. 

Gauge. 

No.  8  shot. 

Right. 

Left. 

Right. 

Left. 

12. 

1%  oz. 

52 

42 

184 

230 

16. 

1       oz. 

42 

36 

205 

245 

20. 

%  oz. 

36 

30 

215 

251 

132 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

PATTERNS   WITH   NUMBER   8%    SHOT. 

25  yards. 

Charge  of     Killing  Circle.  Pattern. 

Gauge.     No.S^shot.     Right.      Left.       Right.  Left. 

16.  1       oz.  30  26  396  416 

20.  %  oz.  26  22  365  391 

40  yards. 

Charge  of     Killing  Circle.  Pattern. 

Gauge.     No.8%shot.     Right      Left.  Right.            Left. 

16.             1       oz.            52            42  198                248 

20.               %  oz.            42            36  217                260 

Comparing  these  figures  with  the  preceding 
table,  we  find  that,  with  suitable  chokes,  and  nor- 
mal loads,  a  16-gauge  using  number  eight  and  one- 
half  shot  excells  a  12-gauge  with  number  eight, 
up  to  forty  yards;  and  that  a  20-gauge  gives  a 
denser  pattern,  with  killing  circle  only  four  inches 
less  at  twenty-five  yards  than  the  12-gauge,  under 
same  conditions.  If  number  nine  shot  were  used, 
the  guns  might  be  bored  more  open,  and  still  main- 
tain killing  patterns,  but  the  effective  range  would 
be  cut  down  to  thirty-five  yards. 

For  the  larger  grouse  we  must  use  larger  shot 
and  the  patterns  need  be  no  denser  than  165  at  ex- 
treme range.  Testing  the  small  bores  last  men- 
tioned (16-gauge  cylinder  and  quarter-choke,  20- 
gauge  quarter  and  half-choke)  with  number  seven 
and  one-half  shot,  we  get  the  following  averages, 
as  compared  with  the  12-gauge. 

133 


GAUGES  AND  WEIGHTS 

"  Killing  circle  "  refers  to  the  area  over  which 
the  shot  spread  uniformly,  and  "  pattern  "  means 
the  number  of  pellets  within  a  30-inch  circle. 

Anybody  can  see,  from  this,  that  at  medium 
range  the  large  bore  has  the  advantage,  if  chokes 
are  as  here  given;  whereas  at  long  range  the 
smaller  bores  surpass  it. 

If  we  give  the  16-gauge  the  same  chokes  as  the 
12,  and  give  the  20-gauge  a  quarter  choke  right 
and  half-choked  left,  then  these  small  bores  will 
do  better  at  twenty-five  yards,  but  will  sprinkle 
too  thin  at  forty  yards — provided  we  stick  to 
number  8  shot. 

These  are  the  reasons  for  conceding,  as  nearly 
everyone  does,  that  small-bores  are  only  for  the 
expert  who  can  center  his  bird  time  after  time, 
and  that  they  are  poor  weapons  for  ordinary 
marksmen,  because  their  killing  circles  are  too 
small. 

Now  comes  up  a  point  that  seldom  is  con- 
sidered. Up  to  forty  yards,  number  eight  and  one- 
half  shot  have  killing  penetration  for  all  upland 
game  except  large  grouse.  Suppose  we  try  num- 
ber eight  and  one-half  in  a  16-gauge  with  right- 
barrel  a  cylinder  and  left  quarter-choke ;  also  in  a 
20-gauge,  right  quarter-choke,  left  half-choke. — 


GAUGES  AND  WEIGHTS 

PATTERNS  WITH  NUMBER  7^   SHOT. 

25  yards. 

Charge  of     Killing  Circle.  Pattern. 

Gauge.     No.7%shot.     Right,      Left.        Right.  Left. 

12.  1%  oz.  30  26  310  326 

16.  1       oz.  30  26  276  290 

20  %  oz.  26  22  264  272 


Gauge. 
12. 
16. 
20. 

No.7%shot. 
1%  oz. 
1       oz. 
%  oz. 

Right. 
52 
52 
42 

40 
Left. 
42 
42 
36 

yards. 
Right. 
155 
138 
151 

Left. 
194 
174 
181 

If  larger  shot  than  number  seven  and  one-half 
is  used  in  the  small  bores,  then  our  16-gauge  must 
be  half-choked,  and  the  20-gauge  full-choked,  or 
the  pattern  will  be  too  thin  for  any  but  short  dis- 
tances. Guns  so  choked  are  only  for  the  expert 
marksman,  and  for  open  country  at  that.  In 
ruffed  grouse  hunting,  or  brush  work  generally, 
they  would  be  well-nigh  useless. 

I  conclude,  then,  that  for  upland  shooting  a 
16-gauge  should  be  cylinder-bored  (forty  per 
cent)  in  the  right  barrel,  quarter-choked  (fifty 
per  cent)  in  the  left;  a  20-gauge,  quarter-choked 
in  the  right,  half-choked  (sixty  per  cent)  in  the 
left ;  and  that  both  should  be  charged  with  number 
seven  and  one-half  shot  for  ruffed  grouse,  or  num- 
ber eight  and  one-half  for  quail  and  the  smaller 
birds.  So  built  and  so  loaded,  the  small-bores 

135 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

have  all  the  spread  and  density  and  penetration 
that  are  needed  for  upland  shooting.  It  follows 
that  if  they  have,  in  addition,  any  peculiar  merits 
which  are  lacking  in  the  larger  gauges,  then  these 
merits  may  well  be  determining  factors  in  choice 
of  weapon. 

The  advantages  of  light  weight  and  handy  grip 
they  certainly  do  possess.  Normal  dimensions 
for  upland  guns  of  various  gauges  may  be  stated 
as  follows. — 


Gauge.    Weight. 

Bbls. 

Shell. 

Powder. 

Shot. 

12. 

7       Ibs. 

30  in. 

2%        in. 

3       dr. 

1%  oz. 

*16. 

6%  in. 

30  in. 

2  9-16  in. 

2%  dr. 

1       oz. 

16. 

6y2  Ibs. 

28  in. 

2  9-16  in. 

2y2  dr. 

1       oz. 

*20. 

6%  Ibs. 

28  in. 

278        in. 

2y2  dr 

%  oz. 

20. 

6%  Ibs. 

28  in. 

2y2        in. 

2%  dr. 

%  oz. 

(The  guns  starred  (*)  give  a  slightly  higher  velocity  to 
the  shot  than  standard.) 

In  comparing  weights,  we  should  consider  am- 
munition as  well  as  weapon.  Twenty-gauge  cart- 
ridges weigh  three  pounds  less  per  hundred  than 
those  of  12-gauge. 

I  do  not  advise  using  shorter  barrels  than 
twenty-eight  inch,  in  any  gauge.  A  good  length 
of  sighting  plane  is  essential  for  true  alignment, 
and  a  certain  length  is  needed  for  steady  swing. 

If  a  pump  gun  or  self-loader  is  preferred,  then, 
for  the  uplands,  let  it  be  a  12-gauge  cylinder,  or 

136 


GAUGES  AND  WEIGHTS 

a   16-gauge  quarter-choke,   or  a  20-gauge  half- 
choke. 

2.  Wildfowling  Guns. — Close  patterns  at  long 
range  are  indispensable  for  ducks,  geese,  brant, 
and  other  waterfowl.  Large  shot  must  be  used, 
and  plenty  of  them.  The  powder  charge  should 
be  as  heavy  as  practicable,  to  drive  the  shot  at 
good  speed.  The  gun  should  be  of  large  bore,  full 
choke  and  heavy  metal.  It  is  true  that  small- 
bore guns  of  high  velocity  do  good  work  on  wild- 
fowl under  certain  conditions,  but  only  when 
handled  by  expert  marksmen.  Average  duck 
hunters  are  badly  handicapped  by  anything  less 
than  a  heavy  12-gauge,  say  one  of  eight  pounds, 
with  thirty-two-inch  barrels,  using  from  three  and 
one-half  to  three  and  three-fourths  drams  of 
powder,  and  one  and  one-fourth  ounce  of  shot. 
Such  a  gun,  charged  with  number  6  shot  for 
inland  ducks,  or  number  3s  for  geese,  is  a  good 
killer  up  to  fifty  yards. 

If  greater  range  is  desired,  then  choose  a  10- 
gauge  of  nearly  or  quite  ten  pounds,  thirty-two 
inch  barrels,  and  taking  shells  long  enough  for  five 
drams  of  powder,  well  wadded,  and  one  and  one- 
half  ounce  of  4s  or  5s  for  ducks,  Is  or  2s  for 
geese.  Properly  held,  it  will  account  for  nearly 
everything  within  sixty  yards. 

137 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

On  the  coast,  where  long  shots  may  be  the  rule, 
an  8-gauge  of  thirteen  pounds,  thirty-four  inch 
barrels,  chambered  for  seven  drams  of  powder 
and  two  ounces  of  3s  or  4s  for  ducks,  Is  or  BBs 
for  geese,  is  eminently  a  proper  arm  for  men  who 
can  wield  it  promptly.  Its  effective  range  is 
about  seventy  yards.  A  glance  at  the  first  table 
in  this  chapter  will  show  the  superiority  of  large 
charges  and  big  shot,  beyond  peradventure.  Still, 
it  is  likely  that  nearly  all  inland  duck  hunters 
will  find  a  specially  designed  12-gauge  their  most 
satisfactory  arm,  in  the  long  run. 

3.  Trap  Guns. — The  standard  trap  gun  of  to- 
day, the  world  over,  is   a   full-choked   12-gauge. 
Usually  it  is  of  seven  and  three-fourths  to  eight 
pounds  weight,  with  thirty-two  inch  barrels,  using 
three  and  one-fourth  drams  of  powder,  and  one 
and  one-fourth  ounce  of  number  seven  and  one- 
half  shot.     Both  closeness  and  uniformity  of  pat- 
tern are  indispensable. 

4.  All-round  Guns. — The  man  who  can  own  but 
one  gun  for  all  purposes,  and  whose  shooting  in- 
cludes both  upland  game  and  waterfowl,  should 
certainly  buy  a  double-barrel  for  the  sake  of  hav- 
ing two  chokes,  for  short  and  long  range  respec- 
tively or  else  have  two  barrels  for  his  auto.     Since 
his  weapon  must  be  a  compromise,  he  cannot  lean 

138 


GAUGES  AND  WEIGHTS 

toward  any  extreme,  nor  can  he  f airly  expect  to  be 
a  top-notcher  in  either  form  of  sport.  It  is  es- 
sential that  his  gun  should  throw  large  and  small 
shot  equally  well.  On  this  account  more,  perhaps, 
than  on  any  other,  a  12-gauge  is  pre-eminently 
the  arm  for  him.  Let  it  be  quarter-choked  (fifty 
per  cent)  in  the  right  barrel,  and  full-choked 
(seventy  per  cent)  in  the  left,  chambered  for  two 
and  five-eighths  inch  shells,  so  that  either  three,  or 
three  and  one-eighth,  or  even  three  and  one-fourth 
drams  of  powder  may  be  used  with  one  and  one- 
eighth  ounce  of  shot.  Such  a  gun  should  weigh 
about  seven  and  one-half  pounds,  and  should  have 
thirty-inch  barrels. 

If,  however,  the  gunner's  requirements  never 
call  for  larger  shot  than  number  six ;  then  a  seven 
pound  16-gauge  might  answer  every  purpose. 


139 


CHAPTER  IX 

MECHANISM  AND  BUILD  OF  SHOTGUNS 

REPEATING  shotguns  are  cheap,  service- 
able, deadly,  and  therefore  popular,  in 
spite  of  their  inherent  ugliness.  They  are 
less  objectionable  at  the  traps  than  anywhere 
else.  In  duck  shooting  over  decoys,  where  power- 
ful charges  are  not  needed,  the  12-gauge  pump 
gun  gives  a  good  account  of  itself.  The  only  10- 
gauge  repeater  on  our  market  scarcely  deserves 
mention,  as  it  is  too  light  to  handle  any  duck  loads 
that  are  strong  enough  to  bring  out  the  super- 
iority of  a  ten  over  smaller  bores.  In  upland 
shooting,  a  repeater  is  clumsier  to  carry  than  a 
neat  double-barrel  of  equal  power  and  has  the 
marked  disadvantage  of  only  one  choke  for  all 
ranges. 

Self-loading  shotguns — generally  called  "  auto- 
matics " — are  still  in  the  awkward  period  of  de- 
velopment. This  much  can  be  said  for  them: 
that  they  are  positive  self-ejectors,  with  single 
trigger,  at  a  moderate  price.  From  a  mechanical 

140 


MECHANISM   AND   BUILD 

standpoint  their  chief  defect  is  a  lurking  uncer- 
tainty of  functioning.  At  the  time  of  this  writ- 
ing, such  arms  are  only  made  in  12-gauge,  with 
forearm  so  excessively  deep  as  to  throw  the  hand- 
hold too  low  for  good  instinctive  pointing.  It 
would  be  better  to  cut  down  the  gun  to  16  or  20- 
gauge,  with  lines  proportionally  refined,  and  stock 
it  so  that  both  of  the  shooter's  hands  will  come  up 
naturally  in  line  when  he  aims. 

There  are  other  reasons  for  restricting  the  self- 
loader  to  small  and  graceful  proportions.  No- 
body of  good  taste  can  tolerate  a  gun  that  looks 
like  a  crooked  club  and  handles  like  one.  More- 
over, there  is  an  ethical  objection  to  rapid-fire 
arms  that  would  be  silenced  if  smaller  gauges  of 
narrow  killing  pattern  were  adopted.  It  is 
claimed  that  they  are  unsportsmanlike:  that  they 
tempt  one  to  ruthless  and  indiscriminate  slaughter. 
Automatic  shotguns  are  outlawed  in  Pennsylvania 
and  throughout  Canada,  on  the  same  principle 
that  forbids  the  use  of  swivel  guns  on  waterfowl 
and  dynamite  on  fish. 

We  may  note  certain  inconsistencies  in  such 
legislation.  If  the  self-loader  is  an  unsportsman- 
like weapon,  then  so  is  the  pump  gun ;  for  there  is 
little,  if  any,  difference  in  their  destructiveness, 
when  used  by  skilled  and  unscrupulous  hands. 

141 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

It  is  not  the  gun,  but  the  gunner,  who  is  to 
blame.  Our  passenger  pigeons  were  not  exter- 
minated with  breech-loaders,  nor  our  buffalo  with 
self-loading  rifles.  And,  to-day,  far  more  game 
is  slaughtered,  in  season  and  out  of  season,  with 
single-loading  "  nigger  guns  "  than  with  all  the 
automatics  in  America.  It  is  stated  that  about 
500,000  new  shotguns  are  sold  every  year  in  the 
United  States,  of  which  not  less  than  350,000  sell 
for  $5,  or  less.  Who  uses  those  cheap  guns? 
As  a  rule,  they  are  in  the  hands  of  pot-hunters 
who  sneak  about,  at  all  times  of  the  year,  mur- 
dering every  edible  animal  that  they  can  find,  on 
the  ground  or  any  way  they  can  get  them.  This 
irresponsible  class  of  men  and  boys  are  too  shift- 
less to  keep  a  complicated  gun  in  working  order, 
even  if  they  could  muster  the  price.  The  only 
measures  that  can  be  counted  upon  to  protect  the 
wild  life  of  this  country  are  uniform  game  laws, 
decently  paid  wardens,  national  breeding  grounds, 
and  prohibition  of  the  sale  or  import  of  dead 
game. 

Regarding  small  bore  automatic  shotguns,  I 
agree  heartily  with  the  views  expressed  by  Mr. 
Askins,  in  a  recent  magazine :  "  It  is  not  to  be 
doubted  that  many  conscientious  hunters  are  pre- 
vented from  using  a  magazine  shotgun  by  the  feel- 

142 


MECHANISM   AND   BUILD 

ing  that  it  is  an  unsportsmanlike  arm;  that  it 
gives  the  marksman  an  undue  advantage,  is  un- 
necessarily deadly.  Such  men  would  take  most 
kindly  to  a  20-gauge  with  its  closer  choke,  nar- 
rowed killing  circle,  and  lessened  charge  of  shot. 
In  the  opinion  of  these  marksmen  the  reduced 
chances  of  killing  with  a  single  load  would  be  ex- 
actly balanced  by  the  reserve  of  fire."  I  may  add 
that,  on  the  score  of  sportsmanship,  there  is  the 
same  refined  pleasure  in  getting  results  with  light 
guns  that  we  feel  in  landing  big  fish  with  delicate 
tackle.  But  nobody  wants  a  20-gauge  repeater 
unless  it  is  built  throughout  on  20-gauge  lines. 

Up  to  the  present  time,  everyone  who  insists 
upon  graceful  contours,  "  live  "  balance,  due  pro- 
portions of  gun  to  charge,  fine  materials  through- 
out, and  skilful  hand  finish,  has  no  choice  but  a 
double  gun.  In  double-barrel  shotguns  we  can 
get — what  we  cannot  get  in  rifles — anything  we 
want,  turned  out  by  either  of  half-a-dozen  Amer- 
ican factories. 

The  best  barrels,  irrespective  of  price,  are  those 
made  of  fluid-compressed  steel,  either  Krupp  or 
Whitworth.  Next  in  quality  come  the  various 
"  nitro  "  steels  of  high  grade,  for  which  each  gun- 
maker  seems  to  have  his  own  pet  name.  They  are 
homogeneous  metals,  of  high  tensile  strength,  that 
are  drilled  from  short  rods,  then  rolled  and  drawn, 

143 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

while  hot,  to  the  required  length  and  rough-bore. 
Barrels  of  this  sort  are  not  only  stronger  than 
Damascus:  they  are  of  closer  texture,  they  take 
a  finer  polish,  and  hence  do  not  pit  or  lead  so 
easily  with  smokeless  powder.  Besides,  they  are 
easier  to  make,  and  therefore  cheaper.  In  the 
old  days,  Damascus  was  preferred  because  it  was 
a  certain  guarantee  of  quality,  as  compared  with 
the  inferior  plain  steel  of  the  period.  Damascus 
is  made  from  alternate  layers  of  iron  and  steel, 
twisted  together  into  a  spiral,  heated  and  ham- 
mered flat,  welded  around  a  mandrel,  forged  into 
shape,  bored  to  gauge,  and  then  browned  by  a 
rusting  process  so  as  to  bring  out  the  figure  or 
"  curl  "  of  the  metals.  Such  a  barrel  is  so  tough 
that  it  would  bulge,  rather  than  burst;  but  it  is 
soft  enough  to  be  dented  easily,  and  its  iron  por- 
tion is  eaten  into  by  the  acid  gases  of  smokeless 
powder. 

Aside  from  the  quality  of  metal  and  wood,  a 
well-made  gun  is  distinguished  from  a  cheap  one 
chiefly  by  the  following  points. — 

1.  The  frame  is  comparatively  light.  Gun 
frames  are  milled  from  the  solid  block.  If  this 
job  is  skimped,  a  lot  of  superfluous  metal  is  left 
at  the  breech,  making  the  gun  needlessly  heavy 
and  ill-balanced. 

S>.  The  working  parts  are  of  tough  and  homo- 
144 


MECHANISM  AND   BUILD 

geneous  steel,  hard  enough  to  stand  long  wear. 
They  are  finished  by  master  craftsmen  and  have 
an  unmistakably  thoroughbred  look,  if  we  may 
apply  such  a  term  to  inanimate  material.  In  a 
cheap  gun  we  find  such  abomination  as  "  malleable 
casting."  It  is  soft  or  brittle  stuff,  and  every 
part  grates  on  its  bearings.  Inside  of  a  gun 
beauty  is  proof  of  utility,  every  time. 

3.  All  joints  are  perfect.     In  the  finest  speci- 
mens of  guns  the  doll's-head  and  other  joints  fit 
with  such  exquisite  nicety  that  the  lines  of  junc- 
tion cannot  be  seen  with  the  naked  eye.     A  hu- 
man hair,  or  the  thinnest  tissue  paper,  would  pre- 
vent   the    barrels    from    closing    on    the    breech. 
Similarly  the  fitting  of  wood  to  metal  is  so  close 
that  no  moisture  can  seep  in  between  them. 

4.  The  trigger-release  is  smooth,  quick,  and  in- 
variable.    This  is  a  matter  of  the  utmost  impor- 
ance,  for  marksmanship  with  any  kind  of  fire- 
arm depends  more  upon  absolute  control  of  the 
trigger  than  upon  anything  else.     I  would  put 
up  with  almost  any  other  botch  in  a  gun  rather 
than  tolerate  a  "  mean "  trigger.     The  various 
grades  of  meanness  can  only  be  detected  by  firing, 
or  snapping,  repeatedly  from  the  shoulder. 

In  the  matter  of  trigger-pull,  one  can  only  ex- 
press his  own  preferences,  for  what  suits  one  man 

145 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

may  disconcert  another.  If,  after  firing  several 
rounds,  you  find  yourself  thinking  of  the  trigger 
at  all,  then  that  lock  needs  doctoring  to  fit  your 
personal  equation.  A  pull  of  not  under  three  and 
one-half  pounds  for  the  rear  trigger  is  necessary, 
in  any  case,  to  preclude  jarring-off  of  the  second 
barrel.  The  front  trigger  should  actually  pull 
lighter  than  the  rear  one,  because  it  has  not  so 
good  leverage.  Then  both  triggers  will  seem  to 
pull  alike. 

Choice  of  single  or  double-trigger  mechanism  de- 
pends a  good  deal  upon  one's  shooting  habits. 
"  It  is  hard  to  teach  an  old  dog  new  tricks ;"  and 
yet  the  new  trick  may  be  a  good  one.  Men  who 
are  not  set  in  their  ways  will  find  a  first-class  single 
trigger  an  advantage,  because  one  pulls  it  always 
from  the  same  point,  at  the  same  angle,  with  the 
same  pressure,  and  without  relaxing  his  grip.  A 
single  trigger  has  this  further  merit :  that  in  shoot- 
ing heavy  loads  continuously,  as  at  the  traps,  one's 
finger  is  not  bruised  by  a  front  trigger  recoiling 
against  it,  or  by  the  guard.  Everybody  who  has 
suffered  in  this  way  knows  that  it  causes  flinching. 
The  difference  in  speed  of  fire,  between  single  and 
double  triggers,  amounts  to  nothing,  when  stiff 
charges  are  used;  for  the  kick-up  and  return  of 
muzzle  must  be  waited  for,  in  any  case.  A  left- 

146 


MECHANISM  AND   BUILD 

handed  shooter  will  find  the  single  trigger  easier 
to  manipulate  than  double  ones. 

Hammerless  guns  are  the  safest,  for  the  obvious 
reason  that  they  cannot  be  discharged  by  catching 
in  brush,  clothing,  fence  wires,  etc. ;  also  because  a 
hammer  may  slip  when  one's  thumb  is  numb  with 
cold.  If  you  have  any  lingering  mistrust  of  the 
hammerless,  then  get  one  with  an  automatic  safety. 
This  is  an  especially  admirable  contrivance  to  have 
on  "  the  other  fellow's  "  gun. 

Some  shotguns  are  locked  shut  by  a  bolt  which 
engages  lugs  under  the  barrel.  Such  a  mechanism 
is  bound  to  wear  shaky  in  time.  There  are  guns 
of  this  kind  so  well  made  that  they  remain  tight 
for  a  long  period,  but  the  principle  is  faulty  in 
itself.  The  locking  point  should  be  as  far  as  prac- 
ticable from  the  hinge ;  as  anyone  can  realize  if  he 
stops  to  think  about  it.  The  proper  place  is 
where  the  rearward  extension  of  the  rib  enters 
the  frame.  The  best  fastening  is  a  rotary  bolt, 
which  is  beveled  or  tapered.  This  bolt  goes 
from  one  side  of  the  frame,  through  the  extension 
rib,  into  the  opposite  side,  and  also  locks  over 
the  extension.  It  is  actuated  by  a  heavy  spring. 
Its  taper  automatically  takes  up  all  wear.  There 
can  be  no  more  play  than  with  a  wedge  driven 
home.  The  gun  will  always  close  tight,  no  mat- 
ter how  much  it  has  been  used. 

147 


SPORTING  FIREARMS 

A  self-ejector  is  such  a  positive  advantage  on 
any  gun  that  it  should  be  applied,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  to  all  but  the  very  cheapest  grades. 
There  is  no  good  reason  why  it  should  add  more 
than  ten  dollars  to  the  cost  of  the  ordinary  dou- 
ble-barrel. 

As  for  engraving  on  a  gun,  I  have  already  ex- 
pressed the  opinion  that  it  is  ornament  out  of 
place.  If  you  must  have  it,  then,  by  all  means, 
get  a  pattern  designed  by  somebody  who  knows 
art  from  filigree.  A  profusion  of  meaningless 
scrolls,  or  other  rococo,  cheapens  a  weapon  and 
provides  just  so  many  extra  nests  for  rust  to 
breed  in.  Anyway,  if  you  can  afford  engrav- 
ing, you  can  afford  something  distinctive — a  bit 
more  original  than  the  everlasting  pointer  dog 
or  the  stag  at  bay.  Your  own  monogram  is 
the  best  design  of  all. 

What  has  been  said  of  wood  for  rifle  stocks 
applies  equally  to  shotguns.  The  right  fit  and 
"  hang "  of  a  shotgun  are  another  matter,  be- 
cause the  arm  is  handled  differently  from  a  rifle. 
A  gunner's  eye,  and  his  whole  attention,  should 
be  on  the  mark  alone.  He  should  not  be  con- 
scious of  seeing  either  the  front  sight  or  the  rib. 
The  gun-pointing  is  done  with  his  two  hands, 
as  quickly  as  he  would  point  a  forefinger.  Hence 

148 


MECHANISM   AND   BUILD 

the  gun,  to  be  a  fit,  must  come  up  naturally, 
with  rib  parallel  to  line  of  aim  (or,  rather,  tilted 
a  little  upward)  and  aligned  with  it,  whenever  the 
two  hands  are  leveled  on  the  mark. 

If  a  gunstock  is  too  crooked  for  your  own 
build,  you  will  shoot  low;  if  too  straight,  you 
will  overshoot.  Moreover,  if  your  cheek  does  not 
come  just  right  against  the  comb  of  stock,  you 
will  aim  diagonally  across  the  gun's  rib,  without 
knowing  it,  and  so  shoot  to  right  or  left,  as  the 
case  may  be.  If  the  heel  of  the  stock  does  not 
rest  against  the  same  part  of  the  shoulder,  every 
time,  your  shooting  will  be  irregular.  A  grip 
that  does  not  fit  the  right  hand  prevents  the  firm 
grasp  that  is  necessary  to  take  up  recoil,  and  so 
will  provoke  flinching.  A  forearm  that  misfits 
will  balk  a  man  in  guiding  the  gun.  If  the  stock 
is  too  short,  it  will  buffet  your  face,  and  shoot 
low  or  in  front;  if  too  long,  it  will  catch  under 
your  armpit,  interfere  with  your  trigger-reach, 
and  make  you  shoot  high  and  behind. 

It  is  customary,  in  ordering  guns,  to  specify 
only  three  measurements  of  stock,  namely:  the 
length  from  front  trigger  to  center  of  butt,  the 
drop  at  comb,  and  the  drop  at  heel.  These  may 
suffice  for  average  men,  but  if  one  is  particular 
about  getting  a  perfect  fit,  and  is  willing  to  pay- 

149 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

extra  for  it,  he  should  give  more  detailed  meas- 
urements, as  shown  in  the  following  cut. — 


GUNSTOCK  MEASUREMENTS. 

First,  lay  a  gun  that  fits  you  (or  nearly  fits 
you)  on  a  table;  then  take  a  straight-edge  as 
long  as  the  gun  and  lay  it  along  the  top  of  the 
rib  and  out  over  the  butt,  snug  against  muzzle 
and  breech.  Now  measure,  as  shown  below,  to 
whatever  dimensions  you  deem  best.  By  way  of 
illustration  I  append  actual  measurements  for  a 
man  of  medium  and  symmetrical  build.— 

A-C.  Length  from  heel  to   trigger 14  5-16  inches 

D-C.  Length  from  hollow  to  trigger 14^ 

E.G.  Length  from  toe  to  trigger 14% 

B-B.  Drop  at  comb 1% 

A-A.  Drop    at    heel 2% 

A-E.  Depth  from  toe  to  heel 5% 

B.F.  Length  of  grip 7 

G.  Circumference    of    grip 4}4 

C-H.  Trigger  to  cap  of  pistol  grip 4% 

Cast-off    (explained  below) *4 

In  testing  for  length,  it  is  important  to  hold 
the  left  hand  in  its  most  comfortable  and  master- 

150 


MECHANISM   AND   BUILD 

ful  position,  well  forward  of  the  trigger  guard, 
so  as  to  give  good  command  of  the  gun  in  any 
attitude,  and  yet  not  far  enough  to  put  any 
strain  on  the  left  arm.  The  closer  one  holds  to 
the  trigger  guard  with  his  left  hand,  the  longer 
the  stock  should  be,  and  vice  versa.  It  is  the 
left  arm  that  really  governs  the  proper  length 
of  stock,  rather  than  the  right. 

A  short-armed  man  requires  about  a  fourteen- 
inch  stock;  a  long-armed  one,  fourteen  and  one- 
half  to  fourteen  and  three-fourths.  Bend  of 
stock  depends  upon  length  of  one's  neck,  and 
also  upon  whether  he  crooks  his  neck  a  good 
deal,  in  aiming,  or  points  his  gun  when  his  head 
is  more  erect.  In  general,  it  is  best  to  select  a 
rather  straight  stock,  for  the  express  purpose 
of  throwing  the  shots  a  little  high.  Most  birds 
are  shot  on  the  rise,  and  all  shot  drops  in  its 
flight. 

A  full-chested  man  requires  more  hollow  in  the 
butt-plate  than  a  flat-chested  one. 

The  comb  of  a  gun  affects  aim  both  vertically 
and  horizontally.  If  its  drop  is  just  right  for 
the  individual  user  it  will  direct  his  shot  at  the 
right  elevation — the  comb  is,  in  effect,  a  shot- 
gun's rear  sight.  If  its  thickness  just  suits  the 
shooter's  face,  then  his  eye  will  naturally  follow 

151 


SPORTING   FIREARMS 

the  center  of  the  gun's  rib.  In  trying  guns  for 
drop,  hold  your  head  well  up,  just  as  you  would 
in  the  field — don't  sight  down  along  the  rib. 
Drop  at  heel,  as  a  rule,  is  proportional  to  drop  at 
comb.  The  usual  ratios  are:  one  and  one-fourth 
inch  at  comb  to  two  inches  at  heel  (short  neck)  ; 
one  and  three-eighths,  two  and  one-fourth ;  one 
and  one-half,  two  and  one-half  (medium  neck)  ; 
one  and  five-eighths,  two  and  five-eighths ;  one  and 
three- fourths,  two  and  three-fourths  (long  neck)  ; 
one  and  seven-eighths,  three  inches. 

If  a  pistol  grip  is  wanted,  let  it  be  of  shorter 
radius  (four  to  four  and  one-fourth  inches)  and 
fuller  curve  than  the  present  fashion.  I  can  see 
no  advantage  in  a  pistol  grip  unless  the  gun  has 
only  a  single  trigger. 

Circumference  of  grip  is  governed  by  the  size 
of  one's  hand.  A  grip  that  is  too  slender  cramps 
the  hand,  or  slips  through  it  when  recoiling,  and 
is  easily  broken  in  the  field. 

Cast-off  means  a  sidewise  bend  of  the  stock  to 
bring  the  rib  into  accurate  alignment  with  the 
eye.  A  hollowed-out  comb  has  the  same  effect 
as  a  cast-off  to  the  right.  Either  of  them  helps 
in  difficult  swinging  shots.  The  amount  of  cast- 
off,  or  shape  of  comb,  is  wholly  dependent  on 
one's  personal  build.  For  average  men,  a  cast- 

152 


MECHANISM   AND   BUILD 

off  of  one-eighth  to  three-sixteenth  inch  is  suffi- 
cient. If  you  are  broad-chested,  more  may  be 
needed. 

A  gun  balances  right  when  its  weight  is  con- 
centrated near  its  center  of  gravity,  and  when 
this  center  is  so  placed  that  the  right  and  left 
hands  support  equal  weight.  Such  "  hang " 
makes  a  gun  buoyant,  makes  it  feel  lighter  than 
it  really  is,  and  helps  immensely  to  level  the  two 
hands  when  pointing  for  a  quick  shot.  An  ill- 
balanced  gun  is  inert,  sluggish  in  the  gunner's 
grasp.  A  well-balanced  one  is  "  alive,"  respon- 
sive. Both  weapons  may  be  of  the  same  weight; 
but  one  will  drag  and  tire  a  man,  while  the  other 
will  seem  a  part  of  his  very  self.  We  all  know 
what  it  means  to  say  that  "  the  horse  and  his 
rider  are  one  " ;  in  the  same  way  should  a  gun  and 
gunner  be  one. 


THE    END 


153 


HANDBOOKS 

^f  Each  book  deals  with  a  separate  subject 
and  deals  with  it  thoroughly.  If  you  want  to 
know  anything  about  Airedales  an  O  U  T"l  N  O 
HANDBOOK  gives  you  all  you  want.  If 
it's  Apple  Growing,  another  O  U  T*I  N  G 
HANDBOOK  meets  your  need.  The  Fisherman, 
the  Camper,  the  Poultry-raiser,  the  Automobilist, 
the  Horseman,  all  varieties  of  outdoor  enthusi- 
asts, will  find  separate  volumes  for  their  separate 
interests.  There  is  no  waste  space. 
f|  The  series  is  based  on  the  plan  of  one  sub- 
ject to  a  book  and  each  book  complete.  The 
authors  are  experts.  Each  book  has  been  specially 
prepared  for  this  series  and  all  are  published  in 
uniform  style,  flexible  cloth  binding,  selling  at 
the  fixed  price  of  seventy  cents  per  copy. 
€J  Two  hundred  titles  are  projected.  The  series 
covers  all  phases  of  outdoor  life,  from  bee-keeping 
to  big  game  shooting.  Among  the  books  now 
ready  are  those  described  on  the  following  pages. 

OUTING     PUBLISHING     COMPANY 

OUTING    MAGAZINE  yachting  0-tFH-N-G  HANDBOOKS 

I4M45  WEST  30TH  ST.  NEW  YORK  122  S.  MICHIGAN  AVE.  CHICAGO 


Outing  Handbooks 


THE  AIREDALE.  By  Williams  Haynes.  The  book  opens  with 
a  short  chapter  on  the  origin  and  development  of  the  Airedale,  as  a  dis- 
tinctive breed.  The  author  then  takes  up  the  problems  of  type  as  bear- 
ing on  the  selection  of  the  dog,  breeding,  training  and  use.  The  book  is 
designed  for  the  non-professional  dog  fancier,  who  wishes  common  sense 
advice  which  does  not  involve  elaborate  preparation  or  expenditure. 
Chapters  are  included  on  the  care  of  the  dog  in  the  kennel  and  simple 
remedies  for  ordinary  diseases. 

"A  splendid  book  on  the  breed  and  should  be  in  the  hands 
of  every  owner  of  an  Airedale  whether  novice  or 
breeder." — The  Kennel  Review. 

"It  ought  to  be  read  and  studied  by  every  Airedale  owner 
and  admirer." — Howard Keeler,  Airedale  Farm  Kennels. 

APPLE  GROWING.  By  M.  C.  Burritt.  Mr.  Burritt  takes  up 
the  question  of  the  profit  in  apple  growing,  the  various  kinds  best  suited 
to  different  parts  of  the  country  and  different  conditions  of  soil, 
topography,  and  so  on.  He  discusses  also  the  most  approved  methods 
of  planning  a  new  orchard  and  takes  up  in  detail  the  problems  connected 
with  the  cultivation,  fertilization,  and  pruning.  The  book  contains  chap- 
ters on  the  restoration  of  old  orchards,  the  care  of  the  trees,  their  pro- 
tection against  various  insect-enemies  and  blight,  and  the  most  approved 
method  of  harvesting,  handling  and  storing  the  fruit. 

THE  AUTOMOBILE— Its  Selection,  Care  and  Use.    By  Robert 
Sloss.    This  is  a  plain,  practical  discussion  of  the  things  that  every  man 
needs  to  know  if  he  is  to  buy  the  right  car  and  get  the  most  out  of  it. 
The  various  details  of  operation  and  care  are  given  in  simple,  intelligent 
terms.     From  it  the  car  owner  can  easily  learn  the  mechanism  of  his 
motor  and  the  art  of  locating  motor  trouble,  as  well  as  how  to  use  his  car 
for  the  greatest  pleasure.     A  chapter  is  included  on  building  garages. 
"//  is  the  one  book  dealing  with  autos,  that  gives  reliable 
information."— The  Grand  Rapids  (Mich.)  Herald. 

BACKWOODS  SURGERY  AND  MEDICINE.  By  Charles 
S.  Moody,  M.  D.  A  handy  book  for  the  prudent  lover  of  the  woods  who 
doesn't  expect  to  be  ill  but  believes  in  being  on  the  safe  side.  Common- 
sense  methods  for  the  treatment  of  the  ordinary  wounds  and  accidents 
are  described — setting  a  broken  limb,  reducing  a  dislocation,  caring  for 
burns,  cuts,  etc.  Practical  remedies  for  camp  diseases  are  recommended, 
as  well  as  the  ordinary  indications  of  the  most  probable  ailments.  In 
eludes  a  list  of  the  necessary  medical  and  surgical  supplies. 

The  manager  of  a  mine  in  Nome,  Alaska,  writes  as  fol- 
lows: "/  have  been  on  the  trail  for  years  (twelve  in  the 
Klondike  and  Alaska)  and  have  always  wanted  just  such 
a  book  as  Dr.  Moody^  s  T&ackwoods  Surgery  and  Medicine ." 


Outing  Handbooks 


CAMP  COOKERY.  By  Horace  Kephart.  "The  less  a  man 
carries  in  his  pack,  the  more  he  must  carry  in  his  head,"  says  Mr.  Kep- 
hart. This  book  tells  what  a  man  should  carry  in  both  pack  and  head. 
Every  step  is  traced — the  selection  of  provisions  and  utensils,  with  the 
kind  and  quantity  of  each,  the  preparation  of  game,  the  building  of  fires 
the  cooking  of  every  conceivable  kind  of  food  that  the  camp  outfit  or 
woods,  fields,  or  streams  may  provide — even  to  the  making  of  desserts. 
Every  receipt  is  the  result  of  hard  practice  and  long  experience.  Every 
recipe  has  been  carefully  tested.  It  is  the  book  for  the  man  who 
wants  to  dine  well  and  wholesomely,  but  in  true  wilderness  fashion  with- 
out reliance  on  grocery  stores  or  elaborate  camp  outfits.  It  is,  adapted 
equally  well  to  the  trips  of  every  length  and  to  all  conditions  of  climate, 
season  or  country;  the  best  possible  companion  for  one  who  wants  to 
travel  light  and  live  well.  The  chapter  headings  tell  their  own  story. 
Provisions — Utensils — Fires — Dressing  and  Keeping  Game  and  Fish — 
Meat — Game— Fish  and  Shell  Fish — Cured  Meats,  etc. — Eggs — Bread- 
stuffs  and  Cereals — Vegetables — Soups — Beverages  and  Desserts. 

"Scores  of  new  hints  may  he  obtained  by  the  housekeeper 

as  well  as  the  camper  from  Camp  Cookery." — Portland 

Oregonian. 

"I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  advice  contained  in  Mr. 

Kephart' s  book  is  to  be  relied  on.     I  had  to  stop  reading 

his  receipts  for  cooking  wild  fowl — they  made  me  hungry.' ' 

—New  York  Herald. 

"The  most  useful  and  valuable  book  to  the  camper  yet 

published."— Grand  Rapids  Herald. 

"Camp  Cookery  is  destined  to  be  in  the  kit  of  every  tent 

dweller  in  the  country." — Edwin  Markham  in  the  San 

Francisco  Examiner. 

CAMPS  AND  CABINS.  By  Oliver  Kemp.  A  working  guide 
for  the  man  who  wants  to  know  how  to  make  a  temporary  shelter  in  the 
woods  against  the  storm  or  cold.  This  describes  the  making  of  lean-tos, 
brush  shelters,  snow  shelters,  the  utilization  of  the  canoe,  and  so  forth. 
Practically  the  only  tools  required  are  a  stout  knife  or  a  pocket  axe,  and 
Mr.  Kemp  shows  how  one  may  make  shift  even  without  these  imple- 
ments. More  elaborate  camps  and  log  cabins,  also,  are  described  and 
detailed  plans  reproduced.  Illustrated  with  drawings  by  the  author. 

EXERCISE  AND  HEALTH.    By  Dr.  Woods  Hutchinson.    Dr. 

Hutchinson  takes  the  common-sense  view  that  the  greatest  problem  in 
exercise  for  most  of  us  is  to  get  enough  of  the  right  kind.  The  greatest 
error  in  exercise  is  not  to  take  enough,  and  the  greatest  danger  in  ath- 
letics is  in  giving  them  up.  The  Chapter  heads  are  illuminating.  Errors 
in  Exercise — Exercise  and  the  Heart — Muscle  Maketh  Man — The  Danger 
of  Stopping  Athletics — Exercise  that  Rests.  It  is  written  in  a  direct 


Outing  Handbokks 


matter-of-fact  manner  with  an  avoidance  of  medical  terms,  and  a  strong 
emphasis  on  the  rational,  all-round  manner  of  living  that  is  best  calcu- 
lated to  bring  a  man  to  a  ripe  old  age  with  little  illness  or  consciousness 
of  body  weakness. 

1  'It  contains  good  physiology  as  well  as  good  common  sense, 
^written  by  an  acute  observer  and  a  logical  reasoner, 
who  has  the  courage  of  his  convictions  and  is  a  master  of 
English  style."— D.  A.  Sargent,  M.  7).,  Sargent  School 
for  Physical  Education. 

"One  of  the  most  readable  books  ever  written  on  physi- 
cal exercise."— Luther  H.  Gulick,  M.  D.y  Department 
of  Child  Hygiene ,  Russell  Sage  foundation. 
" A  little  book  for  the  busy  manvjritten  in  brilliant  style ." 
— Kansas  City  Star. 

THE  FINE  ART  OF  FISHING.  By  Samuel  G.  Camp.  Com- 
bines the  pleasure  of  catching  fish  with  the  gratification  of  following  the 
sport  in  the  most  approved  manner.  The  suggestions  offered  are  help- 
ful to  beginner  and  expert  anglers.  The  range  of  fish  and  fishing  condi- 
tions covered  is  wide  and  includes  such  subjects  as  "Casting  Fine  and  Far 
Off,"  "Strip-Casting  for  Bass,"  "Fishing  For  Mountain  Trout"  and  "Autumn 
Fishing  for  Lake  Trout."  The  book  is  pervaded  with  a  spirit  of  love  for 
the  streamside  and  the  out-doors  generally  which  the  genuine  angler 
will  appreciate.  A  companion  book  to  "Fishing  Kits  and  Equipment." 
The  advice  on  outfitting  so  capably  given  in  that  book  is  supplemented 
in  this  later  work  by  equally  valuable  information  on  how  to  use  the 
equipment. 

"Will  encourage  the  beginner  and  give  pleasure  to  the 

expert  fisherman." — N.  Y.  Sun. 

*  A    vein    of   catching    enthusiasm  rnns  through   every 

chapter." — Scientific  American. 

FISHING  KITS  AND   EQUIPMENT.      By  Samuel  G.  Camp. 

A  complete  guide  to  the  angler  buying  a  new  outfit.  Every  detail  of  fish- 
ing kit  of  the  freshwater  angler  is  described,  from  rodtip  to  creel  and 
clothing.  Special  emphasis  is  laid  on  outfitting  for  fly  fishing,  but  full  in- 
struction is  also  given  to  the  man  who  wants  to  catch  pickerel,  pike, 
muskellunge,  lake-trout,  bass  and  other  fresh-water  game  fishes.  Prices 
are  quoted  for  all  articles  recommended  and  the  approved  method  of 
selecting  and  testing  the  various  rods,  lines,  leaders,  etc.,  is  described. 

"A  complete  guide  to  the  angler  buying  a  nevj  outfit."- 

Peoria  Herald. 

"The  man  advised  by  Mr.  Camp  will  catch  his  fish."  — 

Seattle  P.  I. 

"Even    the  seasoned  angler  vjill   read    this  book    vuith 

profit."  —  Chicago  Tribune. 


Outing  Handbooks 


THE  HORSE  —  Its  Breeeding,  Care  and  Use.  By  David 
Buffum.  Mr.  Buffum  takes  up  the  common,  every-day  problems  of  the 
ordinary  horse-user,  such  as  feeding,  shoeing,  simple  home  remedies, 
breaking  and  the  cure  for  various  equine  vices.  An  important  chapter 
is  that  tracing  the  influx  of  Arabian  blood  into  the  English  and  Ameri- 
can horses  and  its  value  and  limitations.  Chapters  are  included  on 
draft-horses,  carriage  horses,  and  the  development  of  the  two-minute  trot- 
ter. It  is  distinctly  a  sensible  book  for  the  sensible  man  who  wishes  to 
know  how  he  can  improve  his  horses  and  his  horsemanship  at  the  same 
time. 

"/  am  recommending  it  to  our  students  as  a  useful  refer- 
ence book  for  both  the  practical  farmer  and  the  student." 
—  T.  R.Arkell,  Animal  Husbandman,  N .  H.  Agricultural 
Experiment  Station. 

" Has  a  great  deal  of  merit  from  a  practical  standpoint 
and  is  valuable  for  reference  work.'1 — Prof.E.L.  Jordan, 
Professor  of  Animal  Industry ,  Louisiana  State  University. 


MAKING  AND  KEEPING  SOIL.  By  David  Buffum.  This 
deals  with  the  various  kinds  of  soil  and  their  adaptibility  to  different 
crops,  common  sense  tests  as  to  the  use  of  soils,  and  also  the  common 
sense  methods  of  cultivation  and  fertilization  in  order  to  restore  worn- 
out  soil  and  keep  it  at  its  highest  productivity  under  constant  use. 


THE  MOTOR  BOAT— Its  Selection,  Care  and  Use.  By  H.  W. 
Slauson.  The  intending  purchaser  of  a  motor  boat  is  advised  as  to  the 
type  of  boat  best  suited  to  his  particular  needs,  the  power  required  for 
the  desired  speeds,  and  the  equipment  necessary  for  the  varying  uses. 
The  care  of  the  engine  receives  special  attention  and  chapters  are  in- 
cluded on  the  use  of  the  boat  in  camping  and  cruising  expeditions,  its 
care  through  the  winter,  and  its  efficiency  in  the  summer. 


NAVIGATION  FOR  THE  AMATEUR.  By  Capt.  E.  T.  Mor- 
ton. A  short  treatise  on  the  simpler  methods  of  finding  position  at  sea 
by  the  observation  of  the  sun's  altitude  and  the  use  of  the  sextant  and 
chronometer.  It  is  arranged  especially  for  yachtsmen  and  amateurs  who 
wish  to  know  the  simpler  formulae  for  the  necessary  navigation  involved 
in  taking  a  boat  anywhere  off  shore.  Illustrated  with  drawings. 


Outing  Handbooks 


OUTDOOR  SIGNALLING.  By  Elbert  Wells.  Mr.  Wells  has 
perfected  a  method  of  signalling  by  means  of  wig-wag,  light,  smoke,  or 
whistle  which  is  as  simple  as  it  is  effective.  The  fundamental  principle 
can  be  learnt  in  ten  minutes  and  its  application  is  far  easier  than  that  of 
any  other  code  now  in  use.  It  permits  also  the  use  of  cipher  and  can 
be  adapted  to  almost  any  imaginable  conditions  of  weather,  light,  or 
topography. 

"/  find  it  to  be  the  simplest  and  most  practical  book  on 
signalling  published." — Frank  H.  Schrenk,  Director  of 
Camp  "Belgrade. 

"One  of  the  finest  things  of  the  kind  I  have  ever  seen.  I 
believe  my  seven  year  old  boy  can  learn  to  use  this  system, 
and  I  knovu  that  vjewillfnd  it  very  useful  here  in  our 
Tfoy  Scout  vuork." — Lyman  G.  Haskell,  Physical  Direc- 
tor, Y.  M.  C.  A.,  Jacksonville,  Fla. 

PRACTICAL  POULTRY  KEEPING.  ByR.B.Sando.  The  chap- 
ters  outlined  in  this  book  are  poultry  keeping  and  keepers,  housing  and 
yarding,  fixtures  and  equipment,  choosing  and  buying  stock,  foods  and  feed- 
ing, hatching  and  raising  chicks.  Inbreeding,  caponizing,  etc.,  What  to  do 
at  different  seasons,  The  merits  of  "secrets  and  systems",  The  truth  about 
common  poultry  fallacies  and  get-rich-quick  schemes.  Poultry  parasites  and 
diseases.  A  complete  list  of  the  breeds  and  subjects  is  attached.  It  is 
in  effect  a  comprehensive  manual  for  the  instruction  of  the  man  who  de- 
sires to  begin  poultry  raising  on  a  large  or  small  scale  and  to  avoid  the 
ordinary  mistakes  to  which  the  beginner  is  prone.  All  the  statements 
are  based  on  the  authors  own  experience  and  special  care  has  been  taken 
to  avoid  sensationalism  or  exaggeration. 

PROFITABLE    BREEDS    OF    POULTRY.        By    Arthur   S. 

Wheeler.  Mr.  Wheeler  has  chapters  on  some  of  the  best  known  gen- 
eral purpose  birds  such  as  Rhode  Island  Reds,  Plymouth  Rocks,  Wyan- 
dottes,  Mediterraneans,  Orpingtons,  and  Cornish,  describing  the  pecu- 
liarities and  possibilities  of  each.  There  are  additional  chapters  on  the 
method  of  handling  a  poultry  farm  on  a  small  scale  with  some  instruc- 
tions as  to  housing  the  birds,  and  so  forth,  and  also  a  chapter  on  the 
market  side  of  poultry  growing. 


RIFLES  AND  RIFLE  SHOOTING.     By  Charles  Askins.    Part 

I  describes  the  various  makes  and  mechanisms  taking  up  such  points  as 
range  and  adaptibility  of  the  various  calibers,  the  relative  merits  of  lever, 
bolt  and  pump  action,  the  claims  of  the  automatic,  and  so  forth.     Part 

II  deals  with  rifle  shooting,  giving  full  instruction  for  target   practice, 
snap  shooting,  and  wing  shooting. 


Outing  Handbooks 


SCOTTISH  AND    IRISH  TERRIERS.      By  Williams  Haynes 

This  is  a  companion  book  to  The  Airedale  and  deals  with  the  origin  o: 
the  breeds,  the  standard  types,  appproved  methods  of  breeding,  kennel 
ing,  training,  care  and  so  forth,  with  chapters  on  showing  and  also  or 
the  ordinary  diseases  and  simple  remedies. 


SPORTING  FIREARMS.  By  Horace  Kephart.  This  book  is 
devided  into  two  parts,  Part  I  dealing  with  the  Rifle  and  Part  II  with  the 
Shotgun.  Mr.  Kephart  goes  at  some  length  into  the  questions  of  range 
trajectory  and  killing  power  of  the  different  types  of  rifles  and  charges 
and  also  has  chapters  on  rifle  mechanisms,  sights,  barrels,  and  so  forth 
In  the  part  dealing  with  shotguns  he  takes  up  the  question  of  range,  the 
effectiveness  of  various  loads,  suitability  of  the  different  types  of  boring, 
the  testing  of  the  shotguns  by  pattern,  and  so  forth. 

TRACKS  AND  TRACKING.  By  Josef  Brunncr.  After  twenty 
years  of  patient  study  and  practical  experience,  Mr.  Brunner  can,  from 
his  intimate  knowledge,  speak  with  authority  on  this  subject.  "Tracks 
and  Tracking"  shows  how  to  follow  intelligently  even  the  most  intricate 
animal  or  bird  tracks.  It  teaches  how  to  interpret  tracks  of  wild  game 
and  decipher  the  many  tell-tale  signs  of  the  chase  that  would  otherwise 
pass  unnoticed.  It  proves  how  it  is  possible  to  tell  from  the  footprints 
the  name,  sex,  speed,  direction,  whether  and  how  wounded,  and  many 
other  things  about  wild  animals  and  birds.  All  material  has  been  gath- 
ered first  hand;  the  drawings  and  half-tones  from  photographs  form  an 
important  part  of  the  work,  as  the  author  has  made  faithful  pictures  of 
the  tracks  and  signs  of  the  game  followed.  The  list  is :  The  White-Tailed 
or  Virginia  Deer— The  Fan-Tailed  Deer— The  Mule-Deer— The  Wapiti  or 
Elk — The  Moose — The  Mountain  Sheep— The  Antelope — The  Bear — 
The  Cougar— The  Lynx— The  Domestic  Cat— The  Wolf— The  Coyote— 
The  Fox— The  Jack  Rabbit— The  Varying  Hare— The  Cottontail  Rabbit— 
The  Squirrel— The  Marten  and  the  Black-Footed  Ferret— The  Otter— 
The  Mink — The  Ermine— The  Beaver—The  Badger — The  Porcupine — 
The  Skunk — Feathered  Game — Upland  Birds — Waterfowl — Predatory 
Birds — This  book  is  invaluable  to  the  novice  as  well  as  the  experienced 
hunter. 

11 This  book  studied  carefully,  will  enable  the  reader  to 
become  as  well  versed  in  tracking  lore  as  he  could  by 
years  of  actual  experience.'1'1  —  Leiviston  Journal. 


Outing  Handbooks 


WING   AND    TRAP-SHOOTING.     By  Charles  A  skins.     The 

only  practical  manual  in  existance  dealing  with  the  modern  gun.  It 
contains  a  full  discussion  of  the  various  methods,  such  as  snap-shooting, 
swing  and  half-swing,  discusses  the  flight  of  birds  with  reference  to  the 
gunner's  problem  of  lead  and  range  and  makes  special  application  of  the 
various  points  to  the  different  birds  commonly  shot  in  this  country.  A 
chapter  is  included  on  trap  shooting  and  the  book  closes  with  a  forceful 
and  common-sense  presentation  of  the  etiquette  of  the  field. 

"It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  anyone  'who  takes  a  de- 
light in  hunting  can  afford  to  be  without  this  valuable 
book." — Chamber  of  Commerce  Bulletin,  Portland^  Ore. 

"This  book  will  prove  an  invaluable  manual  to  the  true 
sportsman,  vuhether  he  be  a  tyro  or  expert  "^ — Book  Nevus 
Monthly. 

"Its  closing  chapter  on  field  etiquette  deserves  careful 
reading." — N.  Y.  Times. 


THE  YACHTSMAN'S  HANDBOOK.  By  Commander  C.  S, 
Stanworth,  U.  S.  N.  and  Others.  Deals  with  the  practical  handling 
of  sail  boats,  with  some  light  on  the  operation  of  the  gasoline  motor.  It 
includes  such  subjects  as  handling  ground  tackle,  handling  lines  and 
taking  soundings,  and  use  of  the  lead  line;  handling  sails,  engine  troubles 
that  may  be  avoided,  care  of  the  gasolene  motor  and  yachting  etiquette. 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN     INITIAL    FINE    OF    25    CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $I.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


JUL  10  1933 


16 


25 


REC'D  UD 

MAR  2  01961 
iEP  131977  '«  *i 


FEB  20  1936  , 

K, 

JAN    5  1937 


REC'D  LD 

DEC  26  1956 

. 

8  c        '•-  --^ 
RECD 


.G.  CIR.S::F  19  '77 

DEC  1  6  1988 

--W29  'QB 
AUTO.  DISC. 

0  2  1990 


JUN01 

U.C.Bfc. 


U.C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


